Alex's Story
by Ryan Brooklyn
Summary: Sequel to Jacob-Alex Newton finds himself with some new and dangerous friends while he tries to sort out his feelings about Ana Lucia who is now dating Lash. What will he do when his new friendships lead him into a terrible situation he cannot escape?
1. Alone

**A/N: **I know I said I would wait but I got hit with a great plot line and couldn't help myself.

**A/N 2:** Okay, so Alex's Story is more of a sequel than a companion piece. I only called it a companion piece because in my mind a sequel is a story following the first about the same character. This isn't about Lash so it's technically not a sequel. But it is a story within itself. Yeah. Anyway, here it is. Oh, before I forget again, the category says angst because well, let's face it, Alex has angst issues.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything relating to Sky High. Alex, Ana Lucia, Sarah, and a few others are mine (you will know them), but the rest belong solely to Disney. Oh yeah, and this poem ("Alone") belongs to Edgar Allen Poe.

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**Prologue/Alone**

_From childhood's hour I have not been  
__As others were—I have not seen  
__As others saw—I could not bring  
__My passions from a common spring.  
__From the same source I have not taken  
__My sorrow; I could not awaken  
__My heart to joy at the same tone;  
__And all I loved, I loved alone._

Those words by Edgar Allen Poe could have been written for me. I'm serious. It's like the guy knew me even though he's been dead for about two hundred years. Creepy, huh? Some people don't like Poe's works, too depressing, I guess, for them. Me, I like them. They fit my mood well.

Who am I? I'm Alex Newton if that tells you anything. Not many people notice me. I live with a girl named Ana Lucia and her parents. My mom and brother are dead. My dad is in Canada somewhere. I'm not like normal kids. I have superpowers (invisibility and empathy if you were wondering) and go to a school called Sky High. But even there, with kids sprouting different powers left and right, I'm still alone. I'm still an outcast.

A typical day in my life: Ana Lucia bumps into me in the stairwell.

"Sorry Alex, I didn't see you there."

Someone sits on me in the bus.

"Sorry dude, didn't see you there."

Someone runs into me on my way to class.

"Sorry, didn't see you."

And so on and so forth. And I wasn't even invisible then either. People are so blind. Of course, I'm not much to look at. Not really. People are usually disgusted by me.

Some people call me "Goth kid." I guess I look it. I have black hair that's kinda long and hangs in my face. I wear a lip ring (fake, since I don't really have the courage to get a real one), and all black clothing. Usually black baggy jeans with those chains, black t-shirt with a black sweatshirt no matter the weather. Not fancy, but comfortable. My skin's really pale, why I don't know. I wouldn't call myself ugly, but I don't think I'm attractive either. Ana Lucia says that I am, but I'm pretty sure she's just being nice.

Speaking of Ana Lucia, she and her new boyfriend, Lash, are practically glued to each other's sides. Ever since his friend Jacob died, three months ago, they've been hanging around together and dating. I'm usually stuck playing babysitter to Lash's little sister Sarah. Not that I'm complaining much, Sarah's a great kid, definitely more lively since she came back from the hospital, I just don't like Ana Lucia to be away so much. I'm not jealous or anything . . . okay, maybe I am. But can you blame me?

Ana Lucia was the first person to ever talk to me during my stay at the hospital, as I watched my mother fade away to nothing. I had never really befriended anyone my entire life. My dad was abusive, my brother took a gun to his head, and I just wasn't the friendly type. I suppose I'm still not the friendly type. But Ana Lucia was kind to me. She didn't treat me like I was invisible. She took care of me, gave me a home, food to eat, friendship. Now that she's with Lash however, it looks like all that is changing. She hardly pays attention to me now. I'm alone again, just like I was in the beginning.

_Then- in my childhood, in the dawn  
__Of a most stormy life- was drawn  
__From every depth of good and ill  
__The mystery which binds me still:  
__From the torrent, or the fountain,  
__From the red cliff of the mountain,  
__From the sun that round me rolled  
__In its autumn tint of gold,  
__From the lightning in the sky  
__As it passed me flying by,  
__From the thunder and the storm,  
__And the cloud that took the form  
__(When the rest of Heaven was blue)  
__Of a demon in my view._


	2. A Good Deed

**Chapter 1/A Good Deed**

School is typical. I eat alone at lunch, I walk alone in the hallways, I sit alone in gym class (and I'm only picked when someone wants to take advantage of my powers), nobody notices me and I don't really care. I don't really need any friends anyway. At least, that's what I keep telling myself. Oh yeah, and then there are the bullies.

Lash used to be an important bully, back when I was a freshman. Apparently he was part of a big scheme to overthrow the school during Homecoming. I didn't have a date to homecoming, naturally, so I hadn't gone. Ana Lucia insists that he's changed now, and gets this dreamy look in her eye when she talks about him. It makes me feel sick but what can I do about it?

The bullies that now roam Sky High are just cowards looking for something to prove their manliness, or lack thereof. Big brutes that would be on a football team if we had any; they lack the IQ of an earthworm and smell just as bad. There are about three main bullies in Sky High at the moment. The Three Stooges. They like to pick on me especially. Butch, Brutus, and Brock. Actually, they're more like the Three Bees. Anyway, they like to rough me around. They haven't left any lasting injuries on me . . . yet. It's easy to get away from them. All I have to do is use my powers of emotion manipulation to get them to stop. They always manage to get a few pushes in before then though.

Ana Lucia doesn't know about the bullies. Not that she could do anything if she did. All she can do is heal outside wounds. These guys have super strength, acid spit, and can control strong winds, respectively. She wouldn't last three seconds standing up to them. Not that I want her too. I can fight my own battles. I have to.

Ana Lucia doesn't understand me. She used to try to, but now she just wants to be with Lash. She barely speaks to me nowadays. I've just kind of faded into the background. I've also started doing something I promised her I would never do again. I've started cutting. I didn't mean to get addicted, but I suppose I did. I was upset one day after a brush off by Ana Lucia and the razors were just sitting there in the bathroom. I'm not saying I'm proud of my new hobby, but I can't change on my own, and not many people have offered to help me. So I'm stuck . . . for now.

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School started again after winter break. The days passed usually with me as just a shadow among the throngs of Sky High students. One day however, that changed when a girl sat down across from me at lunch. She seemed upset about something and a quick scan of her feelings confirmed that. As she angrily jammed her straw into her juice box, I realized I recognized her. I didn't say anything, thinking she had not noticed me in the first place. I was surprised therefore, when she started speaking.

"How could I have ever fallen for a guy who was so stupid?" She muttered, frustrated.

I did not speak, wondering if it was a rhetorical question. She looked up from stabbing her food with her fork.

"Hello? I'm talking to you." She flipped a stray black curl away from her almond-shaped eyes.

I stared at her, wondering why she was talking to me in the first place. She nodded, suddenly seeming to realize something.

"Right, you don't talk. My bad." She went back to her food and I returned to mine. Silence ensued for a while before she spouted again.

"How could he be so inconsiderate? To say it is my fault he forgot my birthday. I told him once. That should have been enough."

I ventured to speak, sensing that she wasn't really angry, just frustrated and hurt. I tried to make her feel calmer as I spoke. "I didn't think you were one to care about something like that."

She started in surprise at the sound of my voice. She peered at me. "I don't. I thought you didn't talk."

I didn't say anything, just stared at her. She sighed.

"Fine. I care, alright? I just thought that he liked me enough to care about it too. Aren't boyfriends supposed to remember their girlfriends' birthdays? I mean, hello! We're supposed to be close, right?"

"He's crazy about you." I decided just to be blunt, as is my way sometimes.

"Then why didn't he remember?" She asked, looking more vulnerable then I have ever seen her. She was usually hard-core and sarcastic. I wondered if there was something else bothering her too. The hurt that I was getting from her seemed to be deeper than just a sting from a forgotten birthday. However I knew it was not my place to try to fix things that weren't handed to me to fix. So for now I had to work on the birthday problem.

I smiled slightly. "Zach isn't the sharpest guy in the world—"

She snorted, her old self coming back as she rolled her eyes. "You've got that right."

"—It probably did just slip his mind. Go back to him and tell him how he can make it up to you. Do you remember his birthday?"

She blushed faintly. "Uh . . ."

"Don't be too hard on him." I stood; ready to leave this mess behind me. I threw away my trash and picked up my black book bag. Before I left I turned back to Magenta.

"May first."

"Huh?" She looked at me as if I had grown a second head. I nodded slightly.

"His birthday is May first."

"Oh." She turned back to her food and I left.

That had to be one of the strangest situations I have ever been in.

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As a senior, Ana Lucia takes a different bus then I do. She was already in the kitchen making dinner. Her back was to me and I tried sneaking past, not know what I'd say if she asked me about my day. Unfortunately, or fortunately, she's smart.

"Come in Alex, I want to talk to you."

I hesitated, fingering my lip ring nervously. Had she found out about my habit? I stood next to her, fidgeting slightly. She continued to peel carrots, not looking at me.

"I saw you talking to Magenta."

I stayed silent, waiting for her to get to her point. She still did not look at me. A tendril of dark hair rested on her neck and I had to resist the urge to tug at it. She often criticized her looks, with me insisting that she was very pretty. It sometimes got annoying how many times she would disagree with me. Nowadays however, she has Lash to tell her how beautiful she is.

"What were her feelings?"

"She was frustrated and hurt."

"Hmm." Ana Lucia stopped peeling and turned to face me. I noticed I was slightly taller than her. She stared up at me, and I stared down at her. Her eyebrows creased slightly behind her glasses. I stood as stiff as a board, wanting to lean forward but resisting with all my strength. She turned back to the carrots.

"It's good that you talked to her." She paused. I raised an eyebrow and waited for her to continue. "Her parents have been fighting a lot recently. She's more sensitive nowadays."

I nodded. That made sense. Too bad for her. I knew there was something else going on besides the birthday situation.

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The next day I was ambushed by Zach on my way to my locker. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. He looked agitated. He was wringing his hands and looking furtively about. I scanned his feelings and saw that he was nervous but also excited. I thought I could guess why.

"Look man," he said in his deep voice. "I need to ask you something."

I kept walking as if I didn't hear him. He followed persistently like a golden retriever. I snickered slightly at the image that brought to my mind. I opened my locker and retrieved the books I would need for the next class. Zach continued with his request.

"I forgot Maj's birthday, right? So I wanted to make it up to her. The Paper Lantern is too expensive and I can't come up with any good ideas. Could you give me a little help?"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Why are you asking me? You should ask Will or Layla."

Zach looked at the ground sheepishly. "Well, I just figured that since you got Maj to apologize to me for blowing up, you might be able to help me too."

I sighed and got out my wallet. I could not believe this was happening to me. They barely knew me and already they were asking for favors. I handed him all my cash.

"Take her to the Paper Lantern. She likes it there."

Zach took the money excitedly. "Dude, thanks! I owe you one."

I shook my head, knowing he would never remember to pay me back anyway. "Don't worry about it. Have fun or whatever."

He punched the air excitedly as if his favorite football team had just won. He was grinning from ear to ear as I left him. So now I was broke and back to being invisible. But hey, I had done a good deed.

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**A/N: So this is the start. Please review and tell me what you think of it so far. :-D**


	3. New Friends

**Chapter 2/New Friends**

Ana Lucia woke me at nine o' clock Saturday. Way too early for me. I pulled the covers over my head, groaning for her to go away. She persisted however, poking my thin arm until I was sure I could feel a bruise forming.

"What?" I growled from underneath my cocoon.

"Some of your . . . friends are here to see you."

I poked my head out. "Friends? What friends?"

Ana Lucia looked as confused as I felt. "I don't know. They just said they knew you from school. I've never seen them before."

I rolled off the bed, the hard ground waking me up. Ana Lucia giggled slightly as she helped me up. I stood there, blinking in the harsh light from my open window. The jersey and sweats I slept in hung limply on my thin form. Ana Lucia, being the kind of girl that she is, noticed the fabric's lifelessness.

"Alex, are you eating okay?" She asked, her eyes concerned.

I tugged at the jersey, glad it was long enough to cover the stripes on my wrists.

"Yeah," I muttered, turning to the heap of clothes on the floor which held my black jeans and sweatshirt. "I'm fine."

Ana Lucia hesitated before leaving. I quickly got changed and started downstairs for the front door. Ana Lucia had left it slightly open and when I pulled it towards me to see who was on the other side, I frowned in confusion.

Three teenagers stood before me. They looked about my age, maybe older. Two boys and one girl. I had never seen them before.

"Hello Alex," the tallest boy said, smiling good-naturedly.

I stared at him, wondering who he was and how he knew my name. The other boy looked nervous, his fingers were twitching and his eyes kept wandering around furtively. The girl just watched me through dark brown eyes. I quickly scanned their feelings but was surprised when nothing came up. I tried again. Something was keeping their feelings hidden from me. The tallest boy nodded, still smiling but his eyes serious as if he knew what I was trying to do and also knew why it wasn't working. I suddenly felt the need to listen to what they had to tell me.

"Ana Lucia?" I called into the house. "I'm going out for a bit. Don't wait up."

I didn't wait for her response, stepping outside and shutting the door behind me. The smiles on the three's faces disappeared. The tallest boy cocked his head to the side.

"Follow us." He said.

I did, apprehension growing. The girl continued to stare at me. I was getting slightly unnerved by it but tried to ignore her. The nervous boy glanced at me but continued twitching. After we had walked a ways from the house to a small park down the block, the three turned to me.

"My name is Josh." The leader said. "This is Karl and Megan."

The nervous boy nodded jerkily. Josh turned to him and spoke in his ear. Karl seemed to calm down a bit, nodding to Josh. The twitching slowed and eventually stopped, although the wild look in his blue eyes did not go away. Megan continued to stare at me. I stared back. A staring contest ensued. Josh looked on in amusement. I knew from Lash that my stare intimated some people, but her stare was equally strong. I did not look away however, even though my brain was telling me that the whole thing was stupid.

A slow, almost feral, smile curled up her dark lips. "I was right, you are powerful."

"Huh?" Suddenly I was confused. What was she talking about? I looked to Josh. He smiled also.

"Megan has the power of Power Sensing. She was the one who led us to you. She observed your little display in the hospital four months ago."

I crossed my arms. "Really? Then why wasn't she affected? And while we're on the subject," I continued, gesturing to Karl and Josh. "Why weren't you affected earlier either?"

Josh smiled but his eyes gleamed with a dangerous light. "That's our little secret."

I could tell I was getting no where with these questions so I stayed silent, waiting for them to get to the point.

"Alex, we're part of a special academy that trains teens with powers like ours."

"You mean Sky High? I already go there."

Josh looked scornful. "Sky High is for amateur superheroes who only protect banks and stupid citizens. If you want real power, you'll come with us."

He stepped closer to me, his face growing serious. I looked at him with growing suspicion. What was he talking about?

"We've been watching you Alex; we know how you're treated. Don't you want people to recognize you for who you really are? Someone not to be pushed around and belittled, but one who demands respect and appreciation."

I thought about it. I realized that being in the shadows all the time had its perks, but was depressing and was one of the reasons I had started cutting again. Ana Lucia hardly noticed me anymore and Lash treated me with contempt most of the time. Even though Magenta and Zach had disappeared from my life after they had taken what they wanted from me. I realized with a sickening heart that I truly was a nobody. An insect on the windshield of everyone's life. I did not want to be that anymore.

"Where is this academy?" I asked.

Josh's smile appeared once again. "We'll take you there."

"Will I be able to come back it I don't like it or want to think about it?"

Josh and Megan exchanged a look. "Sure, fine. Whatever."

I sighed. "Well then, let's go."

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Josh's car held four people and we all just fit. Megan got in the front next to Josh and I thought I could see something between them that said "boyfriend and girlfriend." Karl sat next to me. Silence covered the vehicle. Karl occasionally glanced at me but looked away when we made eye contact. I waved him off as strange and looked at Josh.

"What are your powers?" I asked

Josh grinned at me through the rearview mirror. "I can manipulate cold and ice. Kinda like Iceman only I can't turn into solid ice. At least not yet." He laughed. "Megan here has indestructibility going for her as well as her Power Sensing. Karl," here he smiled fondly at the twitchy boy. "Karl has a power kinda like yours, Alex. Only instead of turning invisible, he merely blends into the background. Like a chameleon."

I glanced over at Karl. He gave me a weak smile before turning back to face the window. I wondered why he seemed overly nervous but did not feel the need to ask about it. I turned towards my own window and waited for us to arrive at our destination. After a few minutes I heard Josh's voice.

"Sorry kid, but we have to make sure you don't know the academy's location."

I turned in surprise at this statement and felt a sharp jab in my arm. I looked down to see a syringe pull away, needle gleaming. I lifted my eyes to meet Karl's apologetic ones before a wave of dizziness came over me and everything went black.

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**A/N:** Btw, I do not own Iceman or the idea of the academy. They are owned by Marvel and **Jeune Chat** respectively. You can read more about the academy in her story _War and Peace In Mind_. I highly recommend it. It's very good. **Warning:** There is some strong language in it, if that sort of thing turns you off. 


	4. Discovered

**Chapter 3/Discovered**

I felt something wet hit my cheek. It felt like a raindrop. Another followed and another until soon I was soaked with rainwater. Opening my eyes I found myself standing in the middle of the park. It seemed to be well past sunset, the darkness accented by the dark clouds. It would have been poetic if I hadn't been standing in the middle of it. Shivers shook my thin frame as the cold rain pounded down mercilessly on me. I could not remember how I had gotten here. The last thing I remember seeing was Karl injecting me with some kind of sedative. Now I was standing in the middle of a thunderstorm.

Lighting cracked and I flinched involuntarily. I could not seem to get my body to move. I stood frozen in the middle of the park, my feet sunken in the muddy earth.

"Alex!"

I peered into the darkness. Someone was calling my name.

"Alex?"

Ana Lucia was suddenly in front of me. Her eyes were wide and her hair stuck to her face in wet strings. I knew I didn't look any better. I was suddenly engulfed in a hug that nearly cut off all air into my lungs.

"Alex, where have you been? You left this morning with those people and I never saw or heard from you again." She stepped back, still holding my shoulders. "Look at you, you're shaking."

I did not speak, just stared at her through clumps of soaking dark hair. She wiped them gently away from my face. Putting an arm around me, she forced me to move forward.

"Let's get home before you catch pneumonia."

I followed her woodenly. Once we got inside the house, Ana Lucia ordered me up to my room to change. I did so silently. Looking in the mirror I could see how terrible I looked. Black streaks from the liner that surrounded my eyes ran down my pale white cheeks. My black hair was plastered to my face in streaks and my lip ring was itching. I washed my face in warm water, not bothering to put new liner on.

When I came back down in dry clothes, she took a towel to my hair and proceeded to wring out my soaking head vigorously. I knew better than to protest. Her mother, who was home from work for the week, heard about the situation and made me some hot chocolate. I nodded my thanks, starting to feel warm for the first time that night.

"What happened Alex?" Ana Lucia asked me once she had finished drying me off.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I was talking with them one minute, the next I'm standing out in the rain." I looked her right in the eye, thankful she did not have the ability to detect lies.

She collapsed tiredly on the couch. I ventured over to sit next to her, close enough to not come across as standoffish, but far enough away to show my hesitancy at being near her. I did it almost unconsciously. If Ana Lucia noticed she did not comment on it.

"Who were those people?"

I frowned. "I . . . don't know."

"Well, I don't want you talking to them ever again. They must be dangerous."

I smirked slightly. "Yes, ma'am."

Ana Lucia gave me a look but did not comment. I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. The fireplace was directly across from us and Mrs. Rodriguez had started a warm fire in it. I stared into the flames, wondering what had happened and why I couldn't remember anything.

I could feel Ana Lucia's gaze on me.

"You look different." She observed.

I did not answer.

"You're not wearing any eye make-up." She said, surprised. "Not your lip-ring either."

I rested my chin on my knees.

"You look nice."

I glanced at her. Her eyes showed her sincerity. It wasn't first compliment I had received from her, but for some reason it felt unlike the other times. I turned back to the fire, unable to think of anything to say. She did not speak either. Semi-comfortable silence filled the room before Ana Lucia spoke.

"Well, I have to get to bed now. After church tomorrow Lash is taking me out."

I glanced at her. I could feel excitement and nervousness coming from her. Her face glowed in that way it did whenever she talked about Lash. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and faced the fire once more. She laid a hand on my arm.

"Good night, Alex." She said, softly.

"Night" was my only response.

She seemed to hesitate slightly before getting up. "Don't stay up too late."

"Yes, Mother."

A certain sadness appeared to cover the room momentarily. I knew she was thinking of my mother, who died four months ago. Whose death had caused me to go over the edge and consequently caused the hospital display to happen. I missed her still, and my throat constricted slightly as my fingers traveled unconsciously to the scars on my wrists that were covered only by the sleeves of the jersey I was wearing. The day I found out Mom had died was the day I had first started cutting. Ana Lucia seemed to know how I was feeling. She leaned forward and kissed my cheek lightly.

"Buones noches, Alex. Sweet dreams."

With that she left. I touched my cheek softly. That was a first. Ana Lucia had never been this sentimental. Despite my aching heart I smiled at the memory of her lips against my cold cheek. I barely remember getting up and leaving for my room. The next thing I knew I was lying in bed and falling asleep.

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I usually find Ana Lucia's church interesting, but this day I was fidgety. I still could not remember what had happened to me the other day and it was driving me nuts. Small things were coming back however. I could remember a white room with a black door. But that is it. The other reason I could not concentrate is because they had a guest speaker who spoke only in Spanish. Which is great for the church (since everyone there speaks it) but difficult for me as I am just learning.

Ana Lucia started off translating for me but she soon trailed off as she got more interested. I didn't really care. I had too much to think about without having her distracting me with her whispers.

After we had been home for a while, Lash came to pick up Ana Lucia. He tried to strike up a conversation with me while he waited for her to come downstairs, but the situation turned awkward when I wouldn't respond. So we stood there, awkwardly waiting, for a few minutes before Ana Lucia showed up. She seemed a bit out of breath. There was something in her eyes as she looked at me that made me feel uncomfortable.

"Alex, hold out your arms." She asked, sternly.

I froze. How could she have found out? I threw all the bloody razors away. Had I missed one? Ana Lucia grabbed my arm and shoved the sleeve up roughly. I winced involuntarily. She gasped at the sight of the red stripes.

"Oh Alex," she whispered.

I squirmed uneasily. She looked up into my eyes. I flushed shamefully.

"You promised me, Alex. You said you wouldn't cut again." The disappointment in her voice was more painful than the cutting had been. "Why did you do it, Alex?"

I looked away and did not answer. Lash cleared his throat.

"Do you want me to leave?" He asked.

Ana Lucia did not answer. Placing her hands over the more recent sores, she quickly healed them. She could not heal the old ones however. Those scars would be with me until death. She repeated the process with my other arm.

"When I come back we're going to have a little talk." She said.

I gave no indication that I had heard her. Turning away abruptly I turned myself invisible and watched as Ana Lucia exchanged a look with Lash. I could feel disappointment and concern emanating from her. Lash took her hand and they left. I looked down at my newly healed arms. The old scars disgusted me. I was disgusted with myself. I had wanted to stop, I really had. Of course, that's what always happens. You want to stop but get caught before you've really tried. I had to admit I hadn't tried very hard.

I left. Knowing there was nothing to do but wait for Ana Lucia to come back, I took a walk. Staying invisible I watched different people as they passed by me unknowingly. I scanned their emotions. It was interesting to find out how different people's emotions can be from their outward appearance.

A girl who looked like a punk rocker was really hurt and confused. A nice, stylish looking woman was full of anger and hate. A scruffy looking man was cheerful. A small child was greedy. A lawyer was bored.

After about an hour of this I started to feel hungry. I made my way back to the house. Turning visible again, I went to the kitchen and made myself a sandwich. While I was doing so I caught sight of my reflection in the microwave door. I could not see how Ana Lucia could ever call me attractive. Looking at my pale white skin with the black liner hugging my dark eyes, which held an almost haunted look, I appeared to be a ghoul or something. Quickly turning away I stuffed half the sandwich in my mouth and munched as I made my way to my room.

As soon as I closed the door I felt a presence. I froze.

"Hello?" I called. "I know you're in here."

Something seemed to step out from the wall. It slowly shifted into someone I recognized. Someone I recognized well.

"Karl?"

The twitchy boy jerked convulsively. "Listen, I just wanted to tell you not to be afraid of Josh and Megan. They're just trying to help us."

"Us?"

"You, me, kids like us. Besides, they're just doing what they're told."

"So they have a boss? Who is it?"

The boy twisted and jerked nervously. His blue eyes were constantly moving. His sandy color hair flopped on his forehead as he glanced around furtively.

"Look, I'm not even supposed to be here. I just wanted you to know that everything's going to be okay." He started shifting back.

"Wait, you said—"

But Karl was gone. I lifted my hand and waved it through the space he had been. Nothing. I bit into my sandwich and chewed thoughtfully. What had _that_ been all about?

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Ana Lucia's face changed from dreamy to stern when her eyes fell on me sitting in the living room. She hung up her coat and scarf for the wind had been chilly despite the warm sun. January in Maxville usually had snow but it was not quite so cold for that yet. Ana Lucia made her way slowly over to me. I fidgeted slightly, feeling as nervous as Karl.

She sat across from me, holding her hands together tightly. I wanted to reach across and take her hand to help her relax. I knew this would not be appropriate to the situation however, so I resisted. She sighed heavily.

"Honestly Alex, I don't know what to say. You promised me you would never cut again. Why did you do it?"

I could not look at her. I shrugged but did not say anything. How could she understand? She couldn't. She had no idea what I had to go through every single day. She did not know how much pain she herself caused me. Ana Lucia waited for a response that never came. She tried a few more delicate questions but to no avail. I would not speak. After a while she gave up. Without so much as a glance at me she stood and left the room. I was left silently cursing my stupid brain, my stupid heart, and my stupid life.

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**A/N: Thanks Chad, Matchbox Dragon, and Fantasmarific Amalia for reviewing! Hope to hear more from you. :-P**

**Reviews make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. :-D**


	5. The Decision

**A/N: Sorry it took so long guys. I lost inspriation and then I got sick. I'm on the mend now so I decided to get a chapter up. My inspiration came back while I was sick. Go figure.**

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**Chapter 4/The Decision**

_He is here. He's supposed to be in Canada or someplace. What is he doing in my dream? His face is leering. He's standing over me, his hand poised to strike. I hear a voice call out. Suddenly someone steps in front of me. His back is all I can see. Dad hits him across the face. My defender goes down. I kneel beside him._

"_David!"_

_The scene fades. Now I know I'm not dreaming; I'm having a flashback. David stands before me, his face tight. He reaches for me, pulling me close._

"_I'm sorry, Alex." His voice in my ear. "I just can't take it anymore."_

"_Where are you going?" My voice, young and scared._

_My brother strokes my hair. "I have to get away. I'm sorry."_

_He pulls away, looking down into my upturned face. He looks like he is about to cry._

"_I'll come back for you, okay Alex? I'll come back."_

_He grabs my head and kisses my forehead. Then he is gone. I sink to the floor, holding the bedpost tightly. Angry shouts come from downstairs. The breaking of glass. The sound a wet fish makes when it hits the floor of a boat. I flinch. My mother is screaming. My dad is shouting. My brother drives away down the street._

_The police are at the door. Dad acts friendly to them. He makes sure they don't see the fresh scar on my arm. The men give Dad their report. David Newton was found dead in his car, a bullet in his head and a gun in his hand. Dad plays it cool. Mom is sobbing. I do nothing but stand there and scream._

"Alex! Alex! Alex, for goodness' sake, wake up!"

I opened my eyes with a start. Ana Lucia looked down at me. She seemed worried. I found I was sitting up. Ana Lucia sat down on the bed. The light from the hallway shone from the open doorway. I blinked a bit to get used to the brightness.

"What's wrong?" I asked, confused.

"'What's wrong!' What's wrong?" She sounded incredulous. "Alex, I come in here because you're screaming your head off and you ask 'what's wrong?'"

I rubbed the back of my neck ruefully. "I was screaming?"

Ana Lucia's expression turned from shock to concern. "Yes, you were. Do you want to tell me why you might have?"

I suddenly remembered my dream (or flashback if you prefer). I frowned, my face hardening. "I don't want to talk about it."

I turned my face away from her. In doing so I noticed something unfamiliar resting on my nightstand. Before I could get a good look at it however, Ana Lucia had grabbed my chin and was forcing me to look at her.

"Alex, you can tell me. I'm you friend right?" Her eyes searched mine.

My eyes were as hard as steel. "Are you? Or do you only cater your feelings to Lash now?"

It was a terrible thing to say. Unnecessary and uncalled for. But I didn't care. Ana Lucia recoiled as if I had slapped her. I should have kept my mouth shut, but I kept going.

"Lash is your boyfriend right? So why should you pay any attention to your miserable ward who only adds gloom to your happy lifestyle? Just admit it Ana; I'm a bug on the windshield of your life. All you see is Lash now and you're happy with that."

Ana Lucia stood quickly. "Alex, that's not true. That's a lie and you know it! Take it back!"

"Give me one reason I should!" I yelled back, unable to stop the ugly things from coming out. "You know you've been spending more time with Lash then me. You never pay attention to me anymore! I had been cutting for months before you noticed. Months! Admit it! You hate me Ana Lucia. And I hate you!"

I turned away from her and lay down quickly, flinging the covers over my head. It was juvenile to act this way but I didn't care. I didn't care about anything anymore. I could heard Ana Lucia's feet quietly exit the room. The door closing off her muffled sobs.

Two tears of my own trickled down my cheeks. I was horrible. I had driven Ana Lucia away. Just as I had driven David away, all those years ago. If I had only been a better son, Dad wouldn't have beaten us up so much. David wouldn't have left. He wouldn't have killed himself.

"_I'll come back."_

Why had he said that? He knew he would never come back. Why did he give me false hope? I pictured his face in my head and mentally grasped that picture with all my might. Strong David. I had always idolized him. He was my big brother. He took care of me. He protected me. Then he was gone.

Tears turned to sobs as wave after wave of memories passed through my mind. Memories I had made myself forget. I couldn't stay here. David would have wanted better for me. I thought of the academy. The one I couldn't remember because they had sedated me. Still it was better than nothing. I pushed back the covers and picked up the object I had seen lying on my nightstand. It was a cell phone. I flipped it open. A message was up.

_Press 1 when you've reached your decision._

I pressed 1. I held the phone to my ear and listened to it ring.

"Yes?" A feminine voice purred.

"This is Alex Newton," I said, willing my voice not to tremble. "I have decided."

"Yes?"

"I want to join the academy."

"Good, good. We'll pick you up at the bus stop tomorrow at ten o' clock AM. See you there."

The dial tone was loud in my ear.

000000

You have to go through the living room to get to the front door. That's where Ana Lucia was sitting, facing the hallway, looking pensive. I turned myself and my suitcase invisible, but she must have heard me come down the stairs.

"Alex?" She called softly, hesitantly. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears behind her thick glasses.

I stopped, wondering if I should turn visible. I decided not to and just stood, waiting for her to speak.

"Where are you going?" Her eyes scanned the room, searching for me.

"I'm sorry, Ana. I just can't take it anymore." Those words, his voice.

"But where?"

"Away. Far away. Maybe I'll come back. Someday."

Ana Lucia reached out her hand towards me. I stepped forward, wanting to take it. But I knew if I took it, I would have to stay. I couldn't stay. Not now. I reached out my hand slowly. I didn't want to leave her, but I knew I must. I drew my hand back. Backing away I opened the front door. Ana Lucia's eyes moved towards it. She seemed to know where I was and watched me leave. I thought I saw a tear fall down her face.

I turned visible once I got to the bus stop. I toyed with my lip ring nervously. Was I making the right choice? I didn't have much time to think about it, because exactly at ten o' clock AM, a car came careening down the street. It stopped right in front of me and I saw Josh at the wheel.

"Hop in. Don't worry about getting knocked out again. Now that you're with us, we can trust you not to reveal our location, right?"

I shrugged. "I guess so."

"Excellent. Now get in."

I flung my suitcase in the backseat and got in the front. I took a deep breath. I was really doing it. I was going to join the academy.


	6. Intro to a New Life

**A/N: Sorry it took me sooooooooooooo long to update. Just FYI, this story is about to get darker, grittier, and a whole lot more violent then ****Jacob****. I mean, this **_**is**_** an academy full of villains. So . . . be warned.**

* * *

**Chapter 5/Intro to a New Life**

The only thing that's more uncomfortable than walking into a place where you don't know anybody is having all those people you don't know stare at you as soon as walk by. It was unnerving to walk down the hallways to my new room and have people I've never seen before fix their eyes on me and not look away until I passed. I tried to read their emotions but couldn't. I turned to ask Josh about it but he answered me first.

"We have a power neutralizer covering the entire school. No one can use his or her powers unless they're in the training dome."

Well that explained the loss of power but not the staring. I looked again to Josh, but he did not offer an explanation. We soon arrived at a door way. It seemed slightly familiar for some reason. Josh pushed it open and led me into an average sized room. Two bunk beds stood pushed against the wall. Josh stopped abruptly and I raised my eyebrows when I realized why. A girl of about seventeen, wearing a too tight shirt and too tight low-rising jeans, was lounging on a sofa, smoking a cigarette. The muscle in Josh's jaw twitched but other than that he remained completely stoic.

"What are you doing in here Chanel?"

She blew smoke in his direction. "Waiting for Johnson, he was supposed to meet me in the cafeteria, but he never showed." She nodded to me. "Who's the new kid?"

I stepped up to stand next to Josh and he turned to me.

"Alex Newton. He's just joined up. Megan saw a lot of potential in him."

She nodded with a snort. "She would. She's got a thing for brunettes."

I glanced at Josh's bronze curls and hoped he would not take her jab personally. I really did not need another enemy right now. Josh looked like he was about to say something but instead turned to me.

"Curfew's at ten on weekdays and eleven on weekends. I'll go print out your schedule." He moved towards the door. I grabbed his arm and pointed at Chanel who was attempting to blow smoke rings.

"What about her?" I hissed softly, not really looking forward to being left alone in a room with her.

"Chanel? Don't worry about her. She's harmless without her powers and anyway, she'll be leaving soon after she finds out that Johnson just told her to meet him here to get rid of her. She's been with almost all the guys, but she's not really the type you want for your girl. I mean, she's hot but . . ."

"I get the picture."

Josh nodded and left. I turned unwillingly to face Chanel. She was watching me intently. I shifted uncomfortably underneath her gaze and then walked over to the second bunk where I laid my suitcase. I then turned around and leaned against the ladder. For a few moments we only stared at each other, she once and a while taking a long drag from her cigarette.

"You're cute," she said at last.

I started. That was the last thing I was expecting her to say. I shrugged and fingered my lip ring nervously, willing Josh to come back soon. Chanel took another drag and then sat up.

"Is that a lip ring?" She asked with interest.

Again surprised by this topic of conversation, I nodded. She hopped off the bed and walked over to me. She was my height and the amount of perfume covering her scantly-clad body was enough to make me gag. I remained stoic however, and just watched her through wary eyes. She leaned forward to peer at the ring and the smell of her smoke filled breath caused me to turn my face away in disgust. She didn't seem to take offense. She leaned back and sneered slightly.

"It's fake," she stated.

I narrowed my eyes. "So?"

She shrugged. "Tells me something about you. That you're a coward."

I flushed indignantly. "I am not!" I said hotly.

She sneered again. "Prove it then. Let me give you a real one."

I hesitated. "You mean, take me to a shop and . . ."

She waved off my attempt at understanding. "No, no. We aren't allowed out of the academy except on holidays and even then, we can't really go anywhere."

"What do you mean?" I asked, hoping to divert her from her original plan.

She lifted the bottom of her shirt. I saw a circular scar on her side before she dropped the fabric back over it.

"That's where they put a tracking device in. They know where you are all the time. And if you go outside of Maxville's city limits," she made a fist and then released it suddenly. "You blow up. She pointed her cigarette at me. "You have one too."

My hand went to my side, lifting my shirt slightly so I could look at my thin stomach. There, just like Chanel, was a circular scar. I dropped my shirt quickly. So we were prisoners. Even if we wanted to change our minds, we would not be allowed to get away with it.

"So, about the lip ring," she said, her eyes twinkling in anticipation.

I winced slightly. "Will it hurt?" I asked.

She rolled her violet eyes. "Of course it will. But what does it matter? Be a man and take it."

I frowned at her implications. I would not wimp out with this little thing. What would that say about me? That I was a sissy? No way, I would not be labeled that. I steeled myself then nodded abruptly. She smiled widely, displaying slightly yellow teeth.

"Fantastic!" She said. "Let me go get my stuff."

That's when I noticed the many piercing in her ears and the one on her nose. I winced inwardly when I realized she must have done all of those herself. I shuddered at the thought of her coming after me with an ice cube, an apple slice, and a needle. I turned to my suitcase, figuring now was the best time of any to start getting settled it what seemed to be more and more my permanent home.

I had just put the last shirt in the drawer of the dresser which stood against the wall opposite the bunk beds, when the door opened again and Chanel came back into the room, followed by a tall lanky boy with white blonde hair and icy blue eyes that screamed attitude. He barely glanced at me before shoving past and flinging himself up and over onto the top bunk of the bed I had chosen for myself. I frowned slightly at the thought of this obviously rude boy being my bunk mate.

Chanel approached me. Just like I had feared she carried a needle, an apple slice, a gold lip ring, and an ice cube. This last item she shoved at me.

"Put that on the inside of your lip," she instructed. I did so woodenly, taking off my fake ring and casting it aside. She looked at the real ring in her hand thoughtfully.

"I was going to use this for myself," she said thoughtfully. She lifted her slightly greasy, dirty blonde head so that her startling violet eyes met my dark ones. "But this'll be more fun." Her eyes had an almost sadistic twinkle to them. I tried to ignore it and concentrated on pressing the melting ice cube to my lip, trying to numb it as much as I could.

I glanced up at the white haired boy and then back at Chanel, asking her who he was with my eyes. She understood my question and smirked slightly.

"Connor Adams," she said. "He's a ----"

I didn't flinch at her language. I was used to it and had heard far worse from my own father. I did however, glance at Connor, wondering if he would take offense. When he made no noise or movement I was puzzled. He seemed like the kind of guy who would fly into a rage at someone badmouthing him.

Chanel's smirk widened. "He's asleep. Long day of training. He's one of the more powerful kids here, so they work him hard. How's that lip coming?"

I bit down on it. I only felt a slight pressure so I guess that meant I was ready. I took a deep breath and nodded. She pointed to the bed.

"Lie down and keep the ice on it. Don't remove until I say so. Geddit?"

I nodded again, not thrilled at the idea of her leaning over me while I was lying down. However there was nothing for it now. I lay down and she sat beside me. For a few seconds she just looked at me. Just when I was beginning to get uncomfortable, she nodded.

"Now."

I dropped the hand holding the ice and she leaned over me, placing the apple beneath my lip. I closed my nose to her too strong perfume and tried to ignore the fact that her chest was practically falling out of her top. Her fingers caressed my lip as she tucked the apple slice into place. Then her other hand came up, holding the needle. I shut my eyes slowly and waited. There was a pause, then a slight pressure before the pain. I squeezed my eyes tight but to my credit I didn't cry out one bit. Then the needle came out and the ring was put it its place.

I opened my eyes and sat up quickly. Chanel backed off. She nodded appreciatively.

"Nice job. Didn't squeal like the last guy I pierced." Her eyes searched mine. I tried to keep my expression impassive.

She smiled. "Yeah, I can see what Megan saw. Kinda. I don't have her powers, not like I could use them if I did (stupid power neutralizer), but I can see it."

I didn't exactly know what she was talking about but I was in too much pain to ask. She smirked slightly. "Yeah, it'll probably be swollen tomorrow and it'll be painful when you eat and talk, at least for a while." She licked her bottom lip absently. I'll get you some stuff you can use to keep it from infecting. I've had to use that needle several times."

I knew I turned green for she laughed suddenly.

"Just kidding. I have a friend who smuggles them in to me. Do you really think I want to make any enemies by accidentally poisoning their blood?"

I supposed that made sense. There was a rustling then a gruff voice spewed several obscenities before saying,

"Chanel, you still here? Get out before I throw you out myself."

Chanel stuck out a small pink tongue at the bunk bed. "You couldn't even if you tried, Adams. The neutralizer, remember?"

"Don't tempt me."

She just flippantly flipped him the finger than turned back to me. "I guess I'll see you later, alright Newton?"

I nodded, knowing in my heart I never wanted to see this girl again but knowing also that it was probably inevitable. Somehow I knew she would become very clingy on me. Even if she was two years older than me. She turned to go then turned back, studying me once more. Her heavy lined eyes scoping me once more. She flashed me a grin.

"You know you really are cute," she said.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. She winked and then left. I flopped back on the bed, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in my lip. There was no sound from the bed above me and I wondered if Connor was asleep again. That boy must have narcolepsy or something. Closing my eyes I took a deep breath, wondering what Ana Lucia was doing. Then I forced myself not to think of her. She was not important any more. This was my future now. And the more I saw of it, the less I was certain I wanted it to be.


	7. The Training Begins

**Chapter 6/The Training Begins**

The next day I met my other roommates: Gabriel Rochester and Karl. I was actually kinda glad that Karl would be rooming with me, just because I had known him from before. The calm of the familiar I guess. Gabriel was an interesting dude. His hair was spiked up in rock hard cones and died an unusual shade of bluish purple. He had a lip ring, an eyebrow ring, four earrings in one ear and two in the other. His skin was a light caramel color, not unlike Ana Lucia's. He wore an outfit almost as outrageous as his hair. Next to him, Karl and Connor looked normal. I had yet to discover his personality.

Connor was just as rude in the morning as he was yesterday. Not saying anything to anyone, he got dressed and left before Karl had even stirred. That was when I got up. Josh had given me my schedule the night before so I knew I had to get down soon if I wanted to have breakfast.

I was just buckling my belt around my almost too thin waist, when Gabriel woke up. He jumped down from the top bunk and slapped at Karl to wake the other boy. He gave me a grin full of slightly pointed teeth before heading into the bathroom. Karl leaned on his elbow and blinked at me.

"So," he said, his fingers twitching. "You're here."

His sandy cowlick twitched and I watched fascinated. I had no idea you could twitch your hair. . . . I forced a small, tight smile.

"Yes, I'm here." It hurt to talk and the words came out mumbled. Then I remembered the lip ring. I touched it lightly and winced inwardly. The lip was swollen and it hurt. A lot. I tried to ignore the pain.

He looked at me silently for a second before jerking abruptly and getting out of bed. By this time Gabriel was out of the bathroom. He nodded to my swollen lip.

"Hurt like crazy when she did it to me too," he said. "Don't worry. The swelling will be gone by tomorrow if you take care of it. Then it'll hurt for a couple more days then you'll be fine." He grinned, displaying those small pointed teeth. Somehow I didn't feel very reassured.

The three of us arrived at the cafeteria in time to catch a bagel or two before we all were ushered into a stark white room. Bleachers had been placed around a ring that was covered by a clear, hard plastic dome. We spotted Connor and made our way over to him. Connor actually greeted Gabriel a friendly manner. They exchanged some sort of secret handshake and then Gabriel sat down next to his apparent friend. That left me with Karl. We sat down beneath Connor and Gabriel. Just as I feared, Chanel caught sight of us and ran over, her dirty blonde hair done up in some crazy style that made it look similar to a bird's nest.

She seated herself close by me. I resisted the urge to push her off. She looked at my lip.

"Yeah, that figures," she said, nodding at its swollen state.

She looked happy about it. I told myself I would never understand her. I looked around the room as the students came wandering in. I suddenly got a weird sense of déjà vu. The students soon filled the ring of benches that faced the plastic dome. I spotted Josh with Megan beside him. The dark girl had her arm wrapped through Josh's but when she felt my gaze on her she turned and gave me a subtle wink. I quickly looked away, afraid that Chanel might be right about her.

All the students were talking among themselves and I wondered why we were all gathered here and what was going to happen next. Just then a high pitched screech rang throughout the large room and the conversation died down while everyone clamped their hands over their ears, me included. When everything quieted, a tall dark haired man entered the dome. Next to him was a thin lady with a face that resembled a bird's (and an ugly one at that). I looked quizzically at Karl, but it was Chanel who answered my unspoken question.

"That's Mr. and Mrs. Elridge. They're two of the most important teachers."

Just then Mr. Elridge spoke and his voice was amplified throughout the large room.

"Once again we are here to train and equip you for what you will face out there during your missions. I expect the best from everyone. When we call your names, you and your opponent will enter this dome. The fight will begin, and will end with the victor as the last one standing."

I was surprised. This obviously wasn't Sky High in the least. There was no citizen to save at all. I wondered what type of superhero academy this was. None of the students I had met so far seemed hero material. Maybe that was the point. Maybe this was to whip them into shape or something.

That small branch of hope was immediately broken off and chopped to pieces when the first two students entered the dome and proceeded to beat each other to a pulp until one could not rise. I watched with a slack jaw as the medic team came in and carried the loser away on a stretcher. I gulped so deeply I was sure everyone around me could hear. I'm sure I had gone white. Well, whiter than I already was.

"Rochester and Baliene, you're up."

Chanel rose from beside me and gave me a wink, I kept my face impassive. Gabriel stood and stepped over my bench. Together they made their way down to the dome. I got a queasy feeling in my stomach. I realized I was about to watch two people who I just met beat up each other. I didn't want Gabe to get hurt because he seemed like a nice dude, pointed teeth and all. I didn't want Chanel to get hurt just because I can't stand to see girls get beaten. It made me remember my mom.

When the crowd roared to greet the new opponents, I was hit with another sense of déjà vu. Man, I was getting these feelings everywhere! What was wrong with me? I had never been here before, had I? I was suddenly confused. What if I had been here before? I didn't exactly remember what had happened to me after Karl had stuck that needle in me.

Gabriel and Chanel had entered the dome. Everything grew quiet as they began to circle each other, neither letting the other get behind. I watched intently. Connor had moved down to sit with us so he could get a better look. His eyes were shining with excitement and his fists were clenched. I wondered who he was rooting for and guessed Gabriel.

Suddenly Chanel's foot went flying out of nowhere and headed straight for Gabriel's face. Gabe merely blocked it with his arm. Chanel's next attack was a double punch to the stomach. Again Gabriel blocked her, standing almost completely still. She stopped and stood unmoving as well. For a few seconds they just looked at each other. Then there was a flash of red and a fireball came hurtling towards Chanel. I started. Another Warren Peace, eh?

Chanel dodged the fireball and disappeared. She reappeared directly behind him and lashed out at his face as he turned. There wasn't enough time for him to block her and she had him pinned to the ground. He held out his wrist but Chanel kicked something out of his hand. Suddenly he screamed in pain. Connor stiffened beside me and I watched horrified as Gabriel began to writhe on the ground with agony. Chanel stepped back, that small, slightly sadistic smile on her face.

Even without my powers I could feel Connor's anger growing. Karl looked nervously at him, twitching slightly. I watched fascinated. How was she doing it? Was it a mind thing? Was she hurting him inside his head? Finally Gabe went still and Chanel was called the winner. Connor's jaw was working back and forth. The medics came and took Gabriel away and Chanel exited the dome. She was wise enough not to come over until Connor had left to check on his friend.

She grinned at me as she sat down. "So? What did you think?"

"What did you do to him?" I asked, unable to keep the awe out of my voice.

She laughed and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Oh, I can heal a wound or make it worse in terms of pain, and teleport. All Gabe can do is manipulate fire; he has to carry a lighter to use his powers. All I had to do was scratch his face, and then intensify the pain. I could have healed it up right after we ended but I didn't want to. He's Adams's friend and tried to come onto me a while back. He's not my type." She made a face then looked at me significantly.

I turned away. Mr. Elridge was calling the next two contestants.

"Taylor and Walker, you're up."

Chanel grinned. "Oh, watch the fireworks!"

I really had no choice in the matter. I watched as Megan stood from beside Josh and made her way to the dome. Another girl with dark hair and slanted eyes also started down the bleachers. This second girl looked slightly familiar and I knew I had heard that surname before.

The two girls faced each other in the dome. I wondered what would happen, since I knew Megan's powers were indestructibility and power sensing, how was she going to fight? I realized she must know karate or some such martial art. This Walker girl still seemed annoyingly familiar. Why?

"Violet Walker is a shapeshifter," Chanel told me. "She can shapeshift into a tiger. This'll be interesting."

Violet Walker. Shapeshifting. Violet Walker. Shapeshifting. No! Magenta Walker, shapeshifter! That was why this girl looked so familiar: she was Magenta's older sister. I had heard about her, but never seen her. She had the same dark hair and eyes as Magenta, minus the purple highlights. She wasn't dressed like Magenta either. She looked like one of those preppy cheerleaders that Magenta would make fun of. This would be interesting indeed.

Megan instantly whipped out her fist and connected with Violet's chin. We were soon watching a full out kung fu fight. Both girls were very skilled. I realized Megan was keeping Violet busy so the shapeshifter couldn't shift. This went on for a while until the girls began tiring. Finally Mrs. Elridge blew a whistle and they stopped, breathing heavily. A groan rose from the students. They obviously didn't want it to be a tie. I for one was glad Magenta's sister didn't get hurt.

Mr. Elridge's voice rang throughout the room, over the noise of the students.

"Newton and Adams, you're up."

I started in surprise. Me against Connor? Did they have a thing with picking people who obviously didn't like each other? And I was surprised that I had even been chosen. I had just got here for crying out loud! Stiffly I stood at Chanel and Karl's urgings.

"Go get them, Alex," Karl said. "Just like last time."

I froze, almost falling over as Chanel gave me a hard push in the back. I walked down to the dome in a daze. What had he meant? I had never been here before. Just like last time? Huh?

I entered the dome and a black door shut behind me. Inside the dome you could not see the outside. It was all completely white. I stared at the black door in the white room. Where had I seen this before? I remembered that I hadn't remembered anything from after Karl stuck me with the sedative to when Ana Lucia found me in the rain. I smiled slightly as I remembered the worried look she had given me, the feel of her hand against my face as she wiped the wet hair from my eyes.

Just then Connor was before me. He gave me a hard glare.

"I don't like you," he stated in a low voice.

I frowned. "You don't even know me." I pointed out.

He smiled, but it wasn't a nice smile. "Oh, I know you better than you think, Alex Newton. And believe me I've been nice to you so far. I have to. Megan won't let me touch her precious new recruit. But if you ever cross me, try to fight me, or just annoy me, I swear I'll kill you." His voice turned deep and menacing.

"What did _I_ do?" I asked, more confused then frightened by his threat.

He ignored me. Stepping back, he held out his hands to the side.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Training has started."

I reached out uncertainly with my powers, sensing his feelings to see how I could manipulate them. I was astonished at the amount of hatred I felt, most of it directed towards me. Now I was more confused than ever. I didn't even know him before yesterday. What could I have possibly done to deserve all this? And how could I use this to my advantage?

Adams snarled. "Just like I thought. A coward. Now it's my turn. Let's take a stroll down the memory lane, shall we?"

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**A/N: Ooo, cliffhanger! That wasn't supposed to be there, really. I was going to keep going, but I thought that was an interesting place to stop. And this next part is going to be long and it's already almost midnight here. :-P**

**Anyway, don't forget to click that pretty little lavender button down there to leave a review. Come on, you know you want to. :-P**


	8. Memory Lane

**Chapter 7/Memory Lane**

A slight pressure entered my brain. I stared at Adams, trying to figure out what he was doing and what he had meant by his statement. Suddenly a great flash like lightening flew across my vision and I found that I was no longer looking at Adams but at a completely different person. My eyes widened with surprise. It was Ana Lucia, with tears in her eyes, sitting in her living room. Her hand was held out towards me. I realized with a start that I was looking into the past. Was Adams a time-traveler?

But no, for when I reached out my fingers to touch hers, they slipped right through, as if I were a ghost. Then that image disappeared and was replaced with a picture of pale white arms, strips of bright red across the left wrist. I watched slack-jawed as my thin hand came up holding that familiar bloody razor. I winced as I watched myself drag the sharp razor against the white wrist. A wet teardrop fell from somewhere above the bloody arm and mixed with the scarlet liquid. I realized then that Adams was not looking into my past; he was looking into my memories.

This made me grow angry. Of all the people in the universe, Connor was the last person I wanted to look through my memories. I struggled to close my mind to him but he just pushed harder. I suddenly regretted not paying attention in my Defense Against Attacks on the Mind course. But he was not really reading my mind, more like looking at snapshots of what I remembered of my past.

He was trying to hurt me by bringing up painful memories and parading them in front of me. I saw Ana Lucia and Lash, kissing passionately on her couch, oblivious to the sullen-eyed, black clothed boy watching in the doorway. I growled softly.

"Cut it out," I hissed to Adams.

I heard his voice as if from far away. "Make me, Newton."

The next scene showed Ana Lucia, telling me that her and Lash were going to start dating. Her face was glowing and she looked beautiful. My chest constricted, and I pushed against this invading presence in my head. I wanted him out! Suddenly the memories came fast and thick, so fast it hurt.

There was my mother lying pale and weak in the hospital bed. She took a shuddering breath and died, her hand held tightly in mine. There was Lash, telling me he couldn't care less about my mother. I had looked to him for comfort. He had reminded me so much of David. . . . There was the Social Worker, telling me I had to go into foster care or stay with my father. I exploded, screaming and making everyone grow angry and crazy.

There was the glass, biting sharply into my arm and drawing blood as I started my first cut, the red dripping down onto the filthy pavement. The black hopelessness and void I had felt came coursing back into me like a poison river.

There was my mother, sobbing hysterically when they came to tell us about David, that horrible inhuman scream that seemingly came from no where burning my ears. There was David, holding me close, saying that he would come back for me. There was my father, a broken bottle in his hand, David's face bleeding from the cut above his eye where the end of the bottle had shattered.

There was David, strong, comforting, and protective. He was standing in front of me, holding me behind him as my father ranted and raved, throwing his arms in the air in front of him. David's hand tightened around my wrist as he held me back. My father's fist came flying and knocked David to the ground. David didn't cry; he only looked at me, his lip bleeding. He was fourteen then.

There was my mother, crying loudly while my father beat someone I couldn't see, but I knew who it was. There were two small bare legs, the owner of them inspecting the bruises in the small, dirty bathroom. There was shouting, yelling, slapping, bruising, and cursing. Suddenly a face appeared, one that I did not recognize. It was a boy. He had deep scratches on his face. Tears streamed from his eyes and he was screaming. Then . . . nothing.

I passed out.

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When I came to, Megan was the first person I saw. She was staring at me intensely. Like Chanel had, only Megan's scrutiny felt different, like she was scanning me for something. Maybe she was checking to make sure my powers were still strong. Whatever the reason was, she was making me uncomfortable. She reached out a dark hand and brushed her fingertips against my forehead, moving away the hair that partially covered my black lined eyes.

"Sleeping Beauty awakens," she said softly. I recoiled slightly from her touch. She smiled slowly. "There is no damage to your skills. You only need to learn how to use them more effectively for offense. You did well last time."

I struggled to sit up. "Why does everyone keep saying last time?" I asked, a bit moodily. "I don't even remember there being a last time."

"Of course not," she said, grinning, a set of white teeth flashing against dark, full lips. I tried not to be distracted by them. "We erased your memory. But no matter, since you obviously do not remember, someone will need to teach you. Both in your powers and in your physical attacks. If you would have rushed and tackled Adams, he would have released your mind."

I frowned at her obvious disregard for my mind. She spoke so nonchalantly about wiping my memory. I wondered if I had done anything else worth mentioning during my short visit. However when she mentioned training, I had to raise my eyebrows in interest. That actually wasn't a bad idea. But who would train me?

She must have noticed my curiosity for she flashed me that disarming smile again.

"I could teach you the basics of self defense, and I know someone who can teach you how to guard your mind from attacked like Adams."

I cringed inwardly at the thought of her spending one on one time with me. I thought of an alternative teacher.

"If you don't mind, I think that if I'm going to have a teacher, I'd rather it be Walker."

She frowned slightly. "Violet? Why her?"

I tried to think of a good reason. I didn't want to say it was because I didn't want to spend any more time around Megan then I had to. Man, why did she have to be so attractive? If it wasn't for Josh, I might be actually considering letting her teach me. Then I remembered Ana Lucia. Megan may be extremely attractive, even more so than Ana Lucia, but Ana Lucia had an inner beauty. Her compassion and strength shone through to me all the time and she was beautiful.

But even as I was thinking these great thoughts about Ana, the memory of her and Lash on the couch rose involuntarily into the front of my mind. I winced inwardly at the mental picture. I tried to think of something else then remembered that Megan was still waiting for an answer. I gave her the best one I came up with.

"I know her sister. Just think that maybe I can do better if I'm with someone I'm familiar with."

She nodded slowly. "I suppose I could arrange that then. Of course, always remember that I'll be here to help if you need it."

Then she gave me this look that almost made shivers run up my spine. I controlled myself just in time. I refused her to have that kind of hold over me. Besides, wasn't she Josh's girlfriend? I resisted the urge to draw back when she reached for my arm. She took it and turned it over, pushing up the long sleeve of the sweatshirt I wore. I started to pull my arm away, but she held on tight, like a vice.

She stared down at the scars Ana Lucia had not been able to heal. For a moment she simply stared at them. Then she reached out one dark finger and stroked the pale skin of my forearm, giving me goose bumps. I wished she would stop, but then I didn't. I was confused by the swirl of feelings that she was giving me. What was this? It couldn't be love for I was repulsed by this feeling as much as I was entranced by it.

"You'll need to start eating better," she said, examining the thinness of the limb she held. "You'd snap like a twig if anyone jumped you."

I was about to protest, saying that I was tougher than I appeared, when the door opened and Josh walked into the room. Megan dropped my arm quickly, almost too quickly it seemed. What was her deal? Josh didn't seem to notice. He walked right over and placed his arm around Megan's shoulder. She snuggled up to him and acted like she had never insinuated anything with me. I narrowed my eyes slightly.

"You doing okay, Alex?" He asked me in a friendly tone.

I shrugged, still confused by Megan's sudden change in interest. Josh sat down next to Megan's chair and leaned forward, elbows on his knees.

"Well, I admit I expected more out of you. But Adams has a vendetta against you so I shouldn't wonder if he went unusually hard on you. It was stupid for Elridge to pair you two up."

I frowned. "Why does Adams hate me so much? People keep talking like I did something when I was here before but they just assume I remember. But thanks to you guys frying my memory, I don't remember a thing."

Wow, I don't think I've spoken that much in a long time. Megan just smirked at my little speech. To my surprise, Josh actually looked apologetic.

"Yeah, sorry about that. We had to because we weren't sure if you wanted to join or not. It was just a safety procedure."

I was unconvinced but didn't say anything more about it. Megan turned to Josh and told him what she had told me, about needing training. Josh thought Violet training me would be a good idea. They were just getting up to leave when I remembered the boy in my dream which I didn't recognize. I spoke up before Megan and Josh got to the door.

"While Adams was doing . . . whatever he was doing, I saw a boy I didn't recognize." I brought up the picture of him I had in my head, grimacing inwardly at the deep, bloody scratches and the expression of horror. His features were unlike any I had seen before so I figured these two must know who he is. "He had dark brown hair and very light blue eyes. His hair was kind of long and he had freckles."

I closed my eyes and concentrated on making the description as accurate as possible.

"He had . . . a mole . . . underneath his left eye." That had been hard to notice through the blood, but I didn't mention that part. "Long eyelashes, sort of a flat nose, his eyes were sorta slanted, like an Asian kid." I had thought that part was unusual. "White skin, but not pale. And an earring in his left ear." I opened my eyes. Both Josh and Megan's expressions remained impassive. "Is there anyone like that here?"

Josh looked surprised. "No, there isn't anyone here that looks like that. Maybe you're remembering someone from when you were younger, you know, too young to recognize them now."

Megan shook her head. "Sorry, I can't help you there."

I nodded, the image of the boy's face still engrained in my brain. I figured these two would know, but I wondered if Chanel knew about this boy. She seemed to know a lot about what was going on here.

"Classes start after lunch," Josh reminded me. "You'd better show up if you can. See ya around."

He turned and left. Megan stared at me for a moment (I resisted the urge to gag at her expression) and then left as well. I lay back down, staring up at the ceiling. All that talking and remembering had worn me out. I glanced at the clock. Ten minutes until lunch time. I figured I could skip. I wasn't looking forward to seeing Adams again. I shut my eyes and rolled over onto my side.

The boy's face came to me once more and I concentrated on my feelings. I had felt something when Adams had brought the memory to light. I realized I must have been in the training dome with this boy for I remember feeling swirling emotions of fear, horror, anger, pain, shock, confusion, and, strangely enough, desire, a desire to do . . . something that I couldn't remember, along with other emotions I could not distinguish. I could not think of anything else that might help me figure out who the boy was. I turned my thoughts to something else, my brain weary from the attack on it.

Reaching back, I picked out a memory Adams had not used against me. I assume that he saw it but didn't bring it forward because it was a memory I enjoyed and cherished in fact. The memory was so vivid I thought I could actually feel the bed dip and bounce slightly as a heavier body than mine lay beside me. I smiled slightly as the memory kept playing. The strong arm came around my shoulder; I clasped the large, calloused fingers. Warm breath caressed my ear.

"It's okay, baby brother." The deep reassuring voice echoed through my ear and into my mind. "We're going to be okay."

And stupidly I had believed him.

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**Thank you, all four of you, who have been so dedicated as to keep up with this story as I pull it out of the Depths of Despair. Your reviews keep me out of that dark, cold, unfeeling room called Writer's Block with its stacks of blank paper and ink-flowing pens that stare forlornly up at me while my inspiration runs off into the night, laughing at my distress. :-D So thank you Chad, Starsy Skye, BobbyLu, and Fantasmarific Amalia. :-P**


	9. Interlude: Magenta Walker

**A/N: This story is about to go in a different direction than when it started out. Don't worry, I'm not abandoning Alex, I'm just sticking in another person's POV here and there so we can see the other side of the story. Oh and I'm thinking of changing the title of this story. This was a working title anyway.**

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**Chapter 8/Magenta Walker**

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

My hand flew out from under my black and purple bedspread and smacked the snooze button of my alarm clock with as much force as it could muster. Smooshing my face further into the pillow, I groaned loudly. Why did school always have to start so early? I swear if I ever meet the guy who invented early school days I'll kill him. The only way out of bed at this moment was to just throw myself off. My body wasn't going to respond otherwise.

Taking special care not to land on my black high tops, I rolled out of bed and onto my butt. I winced but it woke me up . . . some. Scrambling with my sheets woke me up some more and so when I finally began getting dressed I actually had one eye half open. I stuck my hair up in two messy buns and stumbled down the stairs. My mom gave me a smile as she poured some coffee into a very large thermos for me to take to school. I collapsed on the stool in front of the island counter and flopped my head down onto my arms.

"And how's my sleeping beauty this morning?" Mom asked as she came over and gave me a kiss on the head.

I only managed a low grunt. A huge Rottweiler came bounding into the kitchen. It tilted its head and studied me for a moment, tongue lolling and panting slightly. It gave a happy bark and jumped on me licking my face. I shrieked and fell off the stool. The dog kept licking me all over my face as I beat at it with my fists.

"Get off, Indigo! I am _not_ in the mood!"

The dog gave me a goofy grin and then shifted into the burly shape of my nineteen-year-old brother. His slanted, brown eyes twinkled mischievously and his straight black hair swished across his eyes. I glared at him before shifting quickly into my guinea pig shape in order to scurry out from under him. I shifted back and stood, straightening my shirt. I knew he only meant to wake me up and that was the problem. My eyes were fully opened now, and I used them to bore a hole into the back of his head as he walked over to the fridge to get the milk.

A pure black cat sauntered into the room. It licked its paws delicately before shifting into my twelve-year-old sister Lilac. She sat primly at the table and took a bagel from the stack which sat in the middle of the table. Where my brother looked messy and unkempt with his long swinging hair and small goatee, Lilac was the perfect model for Gap. It was almost sickening. Her perfect hair, perfect nails, perfect clothes always perfectly in place. I stuck my tongue out at her as I walked over to grab my book bag.

"Have a good day at school," Mom said as she handed me my thermos and a biscuit.

I only grunted, still not fully awake. I was going to ask where Dad was, since he was one of those annoying morning people, but I then I remembered the fight they had had the night before and shut my mouth. I said a vague goodbye to everyone but Mom was already scolding Indigo about drinking the milk out of the carton.

I walked over to the corner where I waited for the school bus. Ethan was already there. He adjusted his glasses and said a polite "good morning." I grunted, taking a large gulp of coffee from the thermos, allowing the caffeine to flow through my veins.

The bus came and with it a crowd full of noisy, despicable morning people. How these people could be so alive this early was beyond me. I purposely ignored all the cheerful greetings and made my way to the back where I could wake up by myself, not by some crazy kid with a perky attitude. Ugh, I hate that.

Ethan sat across from me and the bus began to move. I placed my head against the window and took another large gulp of caffeine. My half dead brain turned to the latest letter I had received from Violet who was going to some sort of Prep school out of state, against her will. Violet and I had always been really close. Even though on the outside she looked like one of those preppy cheerleaders, on the inside she was a wild child and always tons of fun.

But then she started getting into trouble. It actually wasn't her fault, but Mom and Dad were already touchy since they'd started fighting. One day she got into a drunk driving accident, in which the other driver died. My parents completely freaked. She was a little tipsy, but it was her friend that was driving. Her friend got put in jail but Violet only got fined. After a while Mom and Dad calmed down, but Violet never got over the fact that Mom and Dad had treated her like a murderer or something and was never the same. She became quiet and distant and I would be the only one she would talk to. Quite abruptly she decided to go to a preparatory school. She's been sending me letters and it sounds like she's doing better, but still I miss her.

My ruminations were interrupted by my energetic lump of a boyfriend plopping down in the seat beside me. He grinned at me. I grunted and drank my coffee. He began talking about some strange thing, I'm not sure what it was, I pretended to listen though because I didn't want to hurt his feelings.

It was only at lunch time when I was finally alert enough to carry on an intelligent conversation. Zach was telling some sort of strange story, waving his arms around and speaking around lumps of mystery meat. I stayed with my salad. I noticed Layla chose only salad too, but I think that's just because she's a vegetarian. Warren was reading a comic book, Will was listening to Zach with a weird sort of glazed expression, and Ethan was studying for our midterm. I rolled my eyes at his dedication. He didn't need to study, wasn't he smart enough?

The two new additions to our group arrived soon after we had started eating: Lash and that Spanish girl, Ana Lucia. Ana looked really upset. I could see tears in her eyes behind her thick glasses. Now me being the kind of girl that I am, didn't say anything about it. However I did listen attentively to her answer when Layla asked what was wrong (she being the kind of girl she is).

"Alex's run away," Ana Lucia said.

It took me a couple seconds to remember who Alex was. He was that wannabe Goth kid who didn't talk very much and who had listened to me rant about Zach forgetting my birthday, which was really stupid now that I think back on it.

"Did he leave a note or give any explanation?" asked Layla.

Ana kind of shook her head then nodded then shrugged. "Not really. He told me he 'couldn't take it any more' and that he had to leave. The night before he was acting strange though. He had a nightmare and when I tried to get him to tell me it, he went loco. He said a few hurtful things about how I wasn't paying any attention to him and only to Lash, which isn't true. I might be a little more preoccupied since Lash and I started dating, but he accused me of hating him, which I would never do!"

She began crying in earnest now. I shifted uncomfortably and poked at a suspicious looking black olive. Lash put his arm around her but looked almost as uncomfortable as me. Warren glanced up from his comic book then returned to it. Zach trailed off and Will seemed to come out of his stupor (see Mrs. Staley? I can use our vocabulary words in context!). Ethan adjusted his glasses and blinked, I could almost see the wheels in his head turning to try to figure out how to find Alex. Layla was getting tears in her eyes. I resisted the urge to roll mine.

To tell the truth I could see Alex running away. He was a loner and they're always doing things like cutting, drugs, or running away. That didn't make the situation any more cheerful but I had to admire his guts. At least he had the courage to actually confront Ana about his feelings. That was better than what Violet did. She just left with no explanation at all.

Ethan turned to Ana. "Was he acting strange before? Like did he obtain any bad habits or start hanging around kids of bad influence?"

She bit her lip as if she wasn't sure she should say anything before sighing. Her tears had stopped now but Lash kept his arm around her shoulders.

"Well, Alex started cutting . . ."

Layla gasped. Will turned slightly pale. Zach looked confused.

"Cutting what?" he asked. I punched his shoulder. He rubbed it as understanding entered his eyes. "Oh."

"And he also had a visit one morning from these kids who said they were his friends but Alex never had any friends besides me. He went with them though, and then didn't come back until night time. I found him in the middle of the park and he couldn't remember how he got there. I thought it was strange but didn't think much of it then."

Ethan whipped out a notebook and poised his pen over it. "What did they look like?"

So Ana Lucia described these dudes that she thinks might have influenced Alex to run off. I only half-listened. Taking a sip from my juice box, I shook some stands of hair out of my eyes. Suddenly I heard something that made me look over to Ana Lucia.

"Did you say that the girl had black skin, curly hair, and a chocker with a black heart on it?"

She looked confused for a moment before nodded hesitantly. I guess they had moved on from that subject. Oh well.

"My sister Violet used to hang with a girl like that. Her name was Megan something. I didn't like her. She kept flirting with my brother Indigo even though I knew she already had a boyfriend."

Warren glanced at me. "Your brother's name is Indigo?" He asked seriously.

I frowned. "Yeah, you got a problem with that?"

He shook his head but his mouth was smirking. I turned my head away and locked eyes with Ana Lucia. She looked thoughtful. Lash spoke up.

"Do you think you can get that Megan girl's address? Someway we can contact her? Maybe she knows where Alex is."

I shrugged. "I can try I guess, but I can't make any promises."

Layla nodded firmly. "We'll do what we can to help."

I smiled slightly. "Maybe Warren could talk to her. You know, since he's hot and everything."

Warren gave me his famous glare. I just raised an eyebrow. Megan had this thing for brunettes, so she would probably listen to whatever Warren had to say. I tilted my head slightly as I remembered something. Megan liked brunettes, yet her boyfriends were always blondes. I wondered about that for a few seconds before shaking my head. She was a messed up chick; I figured I probably would never understand her.

I told them that I would look through Violet's stuff to see if I could find anything about Megan and then the warning bell rang. The rest of the day was filled with Mr. Medulla's sarcastic comments, adoring looks from Zach, and smelly gym socks. When I finally got home I went straight up to Violet's room. I stood there for a moment, taking in the preppy cheerleader stuff with mild distaste, before walking over to her desk. Mom and Dad didn't change anything when she left so everything was still in the same place it was when she last left it. Right down to the high-heels tossed in the corner from when she changed and the makeup scattered on the dresser.

It felt a bit eerie, like walking into a dead guy's room. Even though I knew she wasn't dead. . . . I opened some of her drawers until I found her address book. After a while I found it. Megan Taylor. I smiled and copied down the address and phone number written next to her name in my sister's neat loopy cursive. My bold black capitals looked messy compared to hers. But of course, everyone had thought Violet was perfect. I was the only one who really knew different. Well, me and my parents. They were always quick to point out her flaws. It made me mad but what could I do?

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**A review in the email is worth two in the mind.**


	10. Developments

**A/N: Here we come back to Alex. See, told you that we would.**

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**Chapter 9/Developments**

My first lesson with Violet Walker took place the next day, as soon as the nurse declared me fit for combat. That was comforting (note the sarcasm). I realized that day that this school was different from Sky High also in the way it conducted its classes. Each student took a class that would develop a skill or skills that they needed in order to fight. I wondered who exactly we were training to fight but whenever I asked, I would get an evasive answer or they would just plain ignore me. Well, I was used to that.

The room where I met Violet was also white with a black door. The room tugged at my memory but my brain was still strained from its encounter with Connor's powers so I tried not to think about it. Violet was taller than Magenta, with more Asian in her than whatever their father was. I had only seen Mrs. Walker and knew she was Chinese, but I also knew they were half-and-halfs. As soon as Violet saw me, her expression turned to one of slight disgust.

"I have to train a skinny, little white boy?" She asked, curling her lip faintly.

I felt indignation rising in me. I knew that I needed to gain some weight and that right about now I looked about twelve, but that didn't give her the right to dis me like that.

"I'm fifteen," I said defiantly.

She snorted. "This is a waste of time." She started to leave

I frowned and ran after her, tackling her legs and causing her to fall. She was so surprised she didn't retaliate on time and found herself pinned underneath me. She struggled but like I had been about to tell Megan before we were interrupted, I was stronger than I looked. I held her down by her arms, almost straddling her with my knee on her stomach. She finally calmed down and looked at me with a small bit of respect. Her eyes flashed in amusement.

"I stand corrected. You obviously are stronger than I realized."

Duh, I wanted to say.

"Still," she said, lifting her leg and wrapping it around my chest, flipping me off of her. Now it was her on top of me. "You still have much to learn."

I grinned; glad someone was finally taking me seriously. She got off of me and helped me up. She stepped back and looked me up and down.

"But you're going to have to start eating," she observed. "You're far too skinny to stay unbroken for long."

"Yes, ma'am," I said, smirking slightly. She threw a punch at me which I dodged easily. This time she actually laughed.

"Okay, enough fooling around," she said, her face turning serious but her eyes still twinkling. "If you're going to fight anyone, but especially Adams, here's what you gotta learn . . ."

000000

When I stumbled into the room later that afternoon, I barely noticed who was there. I hurt all over. That Violet was really tough. She had beaten me up pretty badly. I flopped down on my bunk only to be shoved off onto the floor.

"Watch where you lay yourself Newton," a jovial voice greeted my prone body.

I turned over to look up into the grinning, pointed teeth of Gabriel Rochester. I groaned.

"What's your problem?" Gabe asked, still grinning.

"I had my first lesson with Violet today." He already knew about Connor's attack and what I planned to do about it. . . . He had been in the bed next to me in the hospital wing.

He whistled through those pointed teeth. "Dude, a _chick_ beat you up?"

He then proceeded to laugh hysterically like it was the funniest thing in the world. I remained stoic, only groaning slightly when he laughed so hard he fell off the bunk and onto my stomach. I rolled my dark lined eyes and demonstrated Violet's lesson by lifting my leg and flipping him off of me. I sat up and looked over at where he had risen to his knees. He looked at me in slight surprise for a moment before falling over on his back and cracking up again. I huffed in annoyance and laid down on my bunk, ready for some rest.

My rest was short-lived however, for the next moment Megan came storming into the room, followed closely by an amused looking Chanel. Megan grabbed me by the shirt, lifting me up to meet her face to face. I cringed slightly at her roughness and wondered what the problem was.

"I was just informed that Warren Peace and Lash were asking about me over at my house a while ago." Her voice was low and menacing. Her breath slid across my cheek like mist and I stiffened. "Do you know anything about this?"

I narrowed my eyes. "I've been here this entire time. I have no phone, no way to contact them. How could I know anything about that?"

Megan considered this, and then slowly released her hold on me. I straightened my long sleeved shirt while she studied me for a moment, running her hand down my chest from where it had gripped the shirt (I repressed a shudder), before standing up and whirling around on Gabriel. I noticed that he had gone quite white underneath his usually light brown cheeks. I wondered why as I stood slowly, watching the two as Megan reached down and picked Gabriel up off the ground.

"How's your cousin doing these days, Gabe?" She asked calmly.

I stepped up to Chanel who was chewing loudly on some gum. I was about to ask her what Megan meant but she shushed me with a wave of her hand. Gabe licked his lips nervously, glancing at me and Chanel before muttering, "I don't know, I don't really talk to him much."

Megan regarded him shrewdly, still hanging on to his arm. "But he now has grown this hero complex right?"

Gabriel scowled; an expression I had not seen before on his face. "Correct. Which is why we stopped talking."

She nodded silently, pursing her lips tightly before letting go roughly, making him teeter off balance for a second. She pushed past me, heading for the door with a look on her face that made me apprehensive for a moment. When she left I turned to Gabriel and Chanel.

"What did she mean? Who's your cousin, Gabe?"

Gabriel made a face, his jovial personality returning. "Warren Peace."

My mouth dropped. "Seriously? But your last name is—"

"Rochester, right." Gabe stuck out his tongue. "Which is why I'm his father's sister's son. Hence the different last name but same basic powers. Of course he doesn't need a lighter. Lucky devil."

That made sense. And as I took a closer look at Gabe I noticed that he did have the facial coloring that Warren Peace did. Studying Gabriel's face reminded me of another face. Flinching inwardly, I turned to Chanel who was standing too close for comfort. I backed up slightly.

"Hey Chanel? Why does Adams hate me so much?"

She looked at me then walked over to my bunk. She sat down and then patted the space next to her. I shook my head.

"Just tell me."

Gabriel stretched out on the floor and looked up to the ceiling. Chanel got out a cigarette and gestured to Gabriel who tossed her his lighter without getting up. Apparently he held nothing against her almost killing him in the ring the other day. Strange people. . . . I waited patiently for her to start talking.

She blew smoke at me. "Do you want the long version or the short version?"

I just crossed my arms and continued to look at her. Gabriel sighed.

"Just get it over with Chanel," he said, flinging an arm over his eyes. I remembered how close he and Connor had seemed to be and wondered about that too. But I turned first to Chanel.

"Okay here's it in a nutshell: Connor's brother Jayden died. He was a really hottie too. All the girls liked him, the boy's too 'cause he was funny and a great athlete. So yeah, he's dead now."

I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. "What does this have to do with me?" I asked, thinking I already knew the answer.

Gabriel sat up and looked me straight in the eye, his face serious, which was a scary thing. "Because you killed him, dude."

I froze. It was just as I feared. The face I had seen . . .

"But the kid I remembered looked nothing like Connor," I realized. The kid in my memory had had dark hair and slanted eyes . . . of course his eyes had been very light blue, just like Connor's. "This kid had slanted eyes."

Chanel blew some more smoke at me. I turned my nose and mouth away. "His father knocked up some Asian lady and got dumped with Jayden. So they were really half-brothers."

"But very close," Gabriel stated, he was staring at me. "By the way, how do you remember that? I thought they erased your memory."

I bristled slightly at the reminder. "I saw it in my mind while Connor was using his powers. The last thing I saw before I passed out was Jayden I guess, screaming. He had scratches on his face. . . ." A sudden horror washed over me like blood. "What did I do to him?" I asked in a horse whisper.

Gabriel flinched slightly and looked at Chanel. She was concentrating on her cigarette. I reached over and snatched it from her hands.

"Tell me!" I demanded.

She sighed. "When you came here the first time, you weren't like you are now, all quiet and invisible. You had an attitude, especially when you got in the dome. Jayden thought it would be cool to pick on the new kid. And so he challenged you and you agreed."

She pursed her lips and looked at the cigarette I was still holding. I held it out of her reach. She sighed and continued.

"I'm not exactly sure what happened. Jayden just suddenly began screaming and running around, banging his head on the sides of the dome and tearing at his face with his nails, wailing and crying in agony while you just stood there, watching him. He finally banged his head so hard on the dome walls he died. There, now can you give me back my smoke?"

I handed her the stick without thinking. I was in shock. How could I have done that to someone? The only time I came close to killing someone was at the hospital when they told me they were going to contact my father and I lost it. This was totally different. What had I done?

I sank down to the floor, staring blankly at it. Gabriel came over and raised his hand to my shoulder but stopped before he made contact.

"It's okay dude," he told me quietly. "You weren't yourself."

But I had killed him. No wonder Connor Adams hated me so much. Of all the ways to die . . . I realized I must have put emotions of self-hatred, depression, and angst into Jayden so strongly that he had felt the urge to kill himself and then gave into that urge. I felt a shudder run through my entire body. What I had done filled me with horror and disgust with myself. I suddenly felt the need to throw up. I stumbled to my feet and ran for the bathroom door. Once inside I locked myself in and just stood there against the wall, breathing hard.

Pain exploded in my chest and not from any wounds or injuries physically. I had to get rid of this pain. Frantically I searched the bathroom, under the sink and behind the mirror. I stopped after a while. Nothing. I looked through the trash. There was a used razor, sitting not far from the bottom. I fished it out and sat on the toilet, breathing heavily.

Before I could think twice, I lifted my sleeve and pressed the razor blade across my arm. The sharp sting and gathering blood eased the ache in my chest as I let the physical pain override the one inside. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, the panic subsiding. I made another cut in my thin, white arm, parallel to the other. I suppose Chanel and Gabe knew I needed to be alone for no one disturbed me.

I felt bad about returning to my bad habit after Ana Lucia's scolding, but I had to get rid of the hurt somehow. The pain of my new lip ring (which had lessened) was completely gone now. All my brain was registering was the red stripes that continued to be engraved up my left arm.

Finally, after five cuts, I stopped. I felt slightly dizzy from the loss of blood and I cleaned up everything the best I could. When I opened the door, no one was there. I stumbled to my bunk, clutching my throbbing arm which I had wrapped several times in toilet paper to stop the bleeding. I lay there, dark-lined eyelids closed, concentrating on just breathing and the soreness of my arm.

"_It's okay, baby brother. We're going to be okay."_

Yeah right. I was a murderer now. Tell me David, how can I ever be okay knowing something like _that_?

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**Reviews make the world go 'round. Don't stop the world from turning! We'll all get burned up!**

**:-P**


	11. Truth Revealed

**A/N: I am sorry to say that ya'll will probably want to hit Alex's head (or mine) against something really hard in the chapters to come. You can have hope however, for I always like happy endings. . . .**

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**Chapter 10/Truth Revealed**

I lay on my bunk for a long time. I'm not exactly sure how long, but it felt like hours. Clutching my arm, I just lay there, embracing the throbbing pain in my limb . . . the beautiful, relieving pain. My eyelashes fluttered slightly as I sighed deeply. A single tear slipped out of the corner of my eye and trailed a streak of black down to my ear. I swiped at it with my other hand and opened my eyes to stare dismally at the black makeup on my fingers.

"Does it help?"

I turned my head around to see Karl standing next to my bunk. I didn't answer right away but turned my face forward again. I swallowed.

"Sometimes."

Karl knelt by my head, twitching slightly. "So they told you, huh?"

I nodded, wishing he had not brought it up. I closed my eyes again. "How could they let me just kill him? Why didn't they stop me?" I was growing angry now. I made my hand into a fist and slammed it down on the mattress next to me. "What kind of superhero school is this?"

Karl was silent for a few moments before asking quietly, "you mean you haven't figured it out yet?"

I snapped my eyes open and sat up gingerly, my hand going to my left arm as a shock of pain traveled up it. "What are you talking about?" I frowned.

Karl blinked and twitched. "This isn't a superhero academy. It's Royal Pain's Academy for SuperVillains."

My head began pounding as my heart leaped into my throat. I licked my lip nervously, wincing slightly as my tongue came in contact with the tender skin under the new lip ring. Before I could think of something to say, Karl twitched violently. I studied him. He did not look like someone who would enroll in a super villain academy voluntarily. He was too quiet, too harmless. Chanel I could believe. Connor and Megan too. But Karl? And what about Violet? She was Magenta's sister for goodness sake.

"I know; I don't look villain material. I didn't plan on becoming a villain, it just sort of happened. And once I got here, I couldn't leave. They threaten you . . . they hurt you." He flinched.

I looked at him skeptically. He didn't look like someone who had been abused. Not like me anyway.

He shook his head as if he could read my thoughts. "Not always physically." He pointed to his head. "They can torture you mentally too. Look at me," he held his arms out to the sides. His fingers twitched. "I wasn't always this jumpy. Sure I was a little insecure, but not constantly flinching. They did that to me." He lowered his hands. "Once you get here, you can never go back to the life you used to know."

I smiled slightly. "Well, my past is something I _don't_ want to return to."

A villain. Could I be a villain? I had already murdered someone in cold blood, although I could not remember it. But if I did, there had to be something in me that wanted to. A dark side. I looked down at my thin hands, just a few more inches up were the scars, underneath the dark sweatshirt. My black hair swung forward, hiding my face from Karl as I searched myself. I certainly looked the part of a villain. Could I become who I appeared to be? What would Ana Lucia say? She would probably never speak to me again. . . .

I could make new friends. I already had. Karl was one, Gabriel could be another. Chanel I didn't like so much, but she wasn't that bad . . . and I had never had a girlfriend before . . . maybe she wasn't as disgusting as she appeared. Josh could be a friend. I already had developed an enemy in Connor. Even if I could leave the academy, I doubt he would just let me go.

No one had threatened me, besides Adams. The school hadn't had me tortured . . . yet. I would have to ask about that.

"Are all new recruits tortured?" I asked Karl.

"Only if they start having second thoughts."

I had broken a couple hours ago. Did they think that meant I was having second thoughts? If I was honest with myself, I would have to say that becoming a villain had some appeal to me. If I were a villain, I be able to hurt all the people that had hurt me without a guilty conscience or having to do penance. I would live up to my image; no one would bother me. And I would not be invisible anymore. I would have power, I would be strong. I would not be able to be smacked around like my father had always done. I could give in to my thirst for revenge and find my father. I could become rich . . . have money I had not had to pay for better doctors for my mother. If ever Ana Lucia needed help, I could give it easily. No one would be able to say no to me. I could do whatever I wanted.

Karl gave a sad sigh. "You're getting that look."

I looked up at him between strands of my hair. "What do you mean?"

"That greedy look all recruits get when they realize how great a villain they could be. You want to stay and become a super villain, don't you?"

I lifted my head higher. "I don't deny it."

Karl blinked and twitched. Then he stood. "Well, I wish you the best of luck. And I hope you don't get killed by any of your super hero friends."

With that he left. I thought over his last statement. I didn't have any super hero friends. I didn't have any friends in the outside world. This was my future now.

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A few minutes after Karl left, Chanel came in. I had changed to a different sweatshirt but my arm was still throbbing painfully. Without saying a word (which surprised me), Chanel handed me a large gauze pad and some medical tape. I took them, wondering how she knew.

"Karl told me," she said.

Man, were all the people here mind readers? Or was I just that obvious? I would need to work on that. At least Lash had never been able to read me this well. I mumbled a thank you and turned away from her, lifting my sleeve and taking off the cast of toilet paper. I struggled with the pad for a while before Chanel came over and took it from me. I stood still as she carefully (and almost tenderly it seemed) wrapped up my arm. When she was done she looked up at me, still holding my arm. Her hand moved down to grasp my fingers. I resisted the urge to pull away.

"Megan wants to see you," she told me.

I groaned inwardly but nodded. Pulling my arm out of her grasp, I headed towards the door.

"She's in the gym." Chanel told my back. I mumbled another thanks and left the room.

Megan was the last person I wanted to see at the moment. Just thinking about her gave me a weird feeling in my stomach. A feeling that I liked yet disgusted at the same time. No one spoke to me on my way down. That wasn't anything new. I was used to people ignoring me or pretending I was invisible.

When I arrived in the gym, Megan was standing in the middle of the dome. She waved me over. I entered the dome and stood against the door. Now I knew where the white room with the black door had come from. The dome was white with a black door. Megan beckoned me again. I didn't want to, but I also did not want her to get mad at me. I walked forward until I was standing in front of her. She smiled at me, white teeth flashing in her dark face.

"Enjoying your lessons with Violet?"

I had only had a few. Still, I nodded. Megan's smile widened.

"Good." Suddenly she reached out and took my left arm in a firm grip. I winced without thinking. She pushed up my sleeve and looked at the bandaged limb. She looked thoughtful as she stroked the pad.

"You have been cutting again," she observed.

How do they know these things? I simply nodded. She lifted a hand and tucked my hair behind my ear. She kept her hand on my face and trailed her finger down my jaw bone, giving me shivers. She was doing this on purpose; I knew she was; trying to get me to let down my guard. Well, I wouldn't let her. She stepped closer, licking her lips sensually. Oh man, she was so hot. I focused my gaze past her head. My hands were trembling.

"Chanel also told me that you have decided to accept your fate as a super villain." She grabbed my shoulders. Leaning forward, she placed her mouth by my ear.

"I am glad," she whispered. A shiver went down my spine.

I glanced at the door, wondering how quickly I could get over there and out. She put her lips on my jaw next to my ear and kissed it. Moving down, she kissed the middle of my jaw. Then she headed toward my mouth. That was when my sense kicked in. I pushed her away roughly. This was wrong on so many levels. One, she had a boyfriend who could easily beat the crap out of me. Two, she was almost three years older than me. There were other reasons, but my mind was too muddled to work them out.

"What's wrong?" She asked, looking up at me through long dark lashes.

I shook my head almost frantically, backing up. "I can't—we can't—"

She cut me off, pressing her body flush against me. "Alex, I know you want me. I can see it in your eyes." She reached down and took my hands, placing them around her waist. She then lifted her arms around my neck. "Touch me," she whispered, brushing her lips against my throat. I groaned inwardly. This was not happening. But apparently it was. It was like a bad dream or something.

"Hold me," she whispered, pushing tighter against me. My hands shook on her waist and she pushed them down so that they were on her hips. "Kiss me," she said. She leaned forward and brushed her lips against mine. That was the last straw. Shoving her away as hard as I could, I ran towards the door. But before I could exit, it opened. I stumbled back, wondering what was going on as a short, balding man entered the dome.

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

Megan stepped up next to me. I clenched my hands tightly, ready to do something drastic if she tried to seduce me again. But she didn't even try to touch me. Her face was emotionless except for slight amusement as she shook hands with the balding man.

"Professor Crypto, I'm glad you could make it. This boy here needs to learn your skills of mental blocks so that when the time comes for him to fight Adams again, he'll be better prepared."

So she was expecting me to fight Connor again? Not in a million years, even with Violet's training. Professor Crypto gave me a shrewd look. I stared back, wondering who exactly this man was. He gave a short nod.

"Yes," he said. "He looks bright enough to learn. Thank you Miss Taylor, I can take it from here."

Megan nodded and, shooting a look at me which made me curl my lip in disgust, left the room. I could not help but watch her leave, the way she was moving her hips. . . . I mentally slapped myself silly and turned to Professor Crypto. Now _he_ looked amused.

"So, she's caught you in her net as well?"

I frowned darkly. "No, sir." I said firmly. I would never fall for her wiles. They made me feel sick.

The Professor grinned. "That's what they all say at first. The next thing you know they're sleeping in her bed."

My cheeks grew red. What kind of a guy did these people think I was? Yet I had to admit that I would have to work on my self-discipline. If she tried something like that on me again I might not be able to hold her off as well. She was pushy, sultry, yet so attractive. And I could not deny that I felt something when my hands were on her hips. . . .

Crypto's smile was widening and I pushed those thoughts out of my head. "There's a difference between love and lust, son. Remember that."

I frowned. So that explained the feeling I had around Megan. It was so much different than what I felt around Ana Lucia. With Megan the feeling disgusted me yet entranced me. I wanted to run away but get close at the same time. Ana Lucia had never disgusted me. The feeling I felt around her was still desire, but of a chaste kind. I felt safe and secure around her. I knew she would never pull something like that with me.

_Mostly because she's only interested in Lash._ I tried to ignore the annoying voice in my head, but I knew it was right. Ana Lucia had never tried to seduce me not only because she's not like that, but also because she was in love Lash.

Professor Crypto was still watching me and I wondered if he could read my thoughts. I straightened my back and pushed all thoughts of both girls into the back of my head.

"You ready, son?" he asked.

I nodded. "I'm ready."

He nodded. "Good. It is time for you to learn how to keep Connor Adams out of your head."

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**Thanks for all the reviews! Sorry it took so long to get this up, I was on vacation. Review and tell me if it's good, if it stinks, or if you want some leftover pumpkin pie. :-P**


	12. Interlude: Ana Lucia

**A/N::pops head in hesitantly:: Soooooooo sorry I disappeared! I just couldn't find time or motivation to write! Hopefully things will get better. ::blushes:: **

**Switching points of view again. This time we're going to Ana Lucia's perspective.**

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**Chapter 11/Ana Lucia**

I woke up with a heavy heart. My parents were out of town again on business and the house seemed empty and oppressive. I got up and went downstairs to make breakfast. The extra chair at the table reminded me once again who was not upstairs in his room, buried underneath his covers, waiting for me to wake him with the smell of his favorite: bacon and eggs with French toast . . . although he had not been eating at all very much during the last days.

It had been three weeks since Alex left. I still felt guilty about his leaving. Lash keeps telling me that it wasn't my fault, that Alex had a lot of other problems that became too much for him. Lash said he could relate. I suppose he could. His father is not as abusive now that Sarah is safe at home. But it can still be rough. Already a couple of times Lash and Sarah have slept over here just as a precaution. I felt sorry for them.

Adjusting my glasses, I got out a bowl and a spoon. Pouring out some cereal and milk, I went to put the carton away when I caught a glimpse of myself in the toaster. I sighed. I always wore my contacts now whenever I went out with Lash, because I know he liked me better without my "dorky" glasses. I agreed with him that I looked prettier without them. Unfortunately, I become as blind as a newborn kitten as soon as I take them off.

Peering at my reflection, I remembered all the times Alex had insisted I was beautiful, glasses and all. I had thanked him almost flippantly. Shamefully I remembered how I had not really cared for Alex's opinion . . . only Lash's. I sat down and placed my head in my hands, staring at my soggy cereal dismally. Since Alex left there has been so many times when I've realized how much I had taken him for granted. Now that he was gone, I missed him. I missed him terribly. He had been like a brother to me. I loved him.

I remember being shocked when I found the bloody razor, fallen between the trashcan and the toilet in the bathroom. I was even more horrified when I forced him to lift his sleeves and he revealed weeks of cutting scars. How could I have missed that? I had not been paying attention.

There was also his weight. He had been much too skinny, I could tell that when I healed his newest wounds. But I was too wrapped up in my own new social life to try and talk to him about it. His outburst after his nightmare did not surprise me now. He must have thought that I hated him. I gave him no reason to think otherwise.

I could only eat a few bits of my cereal before my throat closed up. I threw the rest away and decided to visit the room before I went to school. Climbing the stairs, I took a deep breath and opened the door to the room that held so many painful memories.

It was completely the same. Mama and Papi had not the time to fix it up, and I had not the heart. I walked in and sat on the half-made bed, looking around. There was nothing on the walls, no collections on the dresser. He had never expressed interest in anything. I leaned forward and opened the top drawer of the dresser. There, pushed to the back and behind rows of black socks, was the book.

It was a sketch book and I had found it the first week of Alex's absence. When I had opened it for the first time, I was amazed at the talent I saw. I had never known Alex could draw, yet these sketches were masterpieces. But then as I looked at them closer, my throat constricted and my chest began to ache. These weren't just any kind of sketches; they were sketches of despair, of anger, of hurt, and of death.

Demons grabbed and wrestled with a boy that looked frighteningly like Alex himself, dragging him to a cliff. In one sketch the boy sat on a rock, cutting his arm as the demons danced on his head and shoulders and around him. When I looked closer I could see a small tear caught in the corner of the boy's eye. Another drawing was just a broken bottle, lying on a wooden floor. In another it was just a smoking gun, the hand holding it slung out over what looked like the passenger seat of a car. The body was not shown.

I wondered about these drawings, and felt horrified and angry at myself for not paying closer attention to the pain Alex had been experiencing. Lash did his best to comfort me, but I wanted my Alex. Home, safe, and with me. I fell back against the pillow, holding the sketch book to my chest. I breathed in deeply and smiled slightly. Alex's smell was still here. His smell had become something special to me. It reminded me of a dark forest after a rainstorm. That musty yet fresh scent made me think of tall, dark trees and mossy ground.

It was almost time to leave for school. I got up and washed my face, clearing away the tears I had not felt falling. Applying some makeup, I put in my contacts and left the house. I sat by myself on the bus, wondering if this loneliness is what Alex had felt every day. When we passed Lash's neighborhood, he got on and sat next to me. He put his arm around me and I snuggled against him tightly, burying my face in his chest. He patted my shoulder.

"It's okay Ana, we'll find him." He told me.

Magenta's lead had done us no good. We had called this Megan Taylor's number and all we got was her mother saying she had gone to private school. Maj had a few colorful words to say about that, but it did no good. We still had no leads.

It seemed like no one else at school even noticed Alex was missing. Even Principal Powers had only just realized he had not been attending school for the past three weeks and had called me to her office the other day to ask about it. When I told her he had run away from home, she told me she would get in touch with the Bureau for Superhero Assistance and see if they could find him.

I was grateful, but that still did not give me back my Alex. I had no idea where he could be. The only place I knew he was not was Canada. He would never go where his father allegedly lived. I shifted slightly in my seat and Lash began to play with my hair. I sighed and kissed his cheek.

"Ana Lucia?" Lash asked quietly.

"Hmm?"

"During lunch let's go outside to eat. There's something I need to tell you in private."

I was curious to know what this something was, and was tempted to wheedle it out of him right then and there. But I didn't, knowing that when Lash decided on something he was very stubborn. That reminded me of the time, about four or five months ago, when the boy Jacob Whitewater died. Lash had tried so hard to save this little boy and when he couldn't, he promised Jacob that he would become a superhero. This was part of the reason Lash had changed so drastically from the stuck up, bully/villain he had been last school year.

I still don't remember how I exactly I had fallen for Lash. He was good looking, there was no doubt of that, but I was not the shallow kind of girl who fell for a guy just because he was cute. The first time I spoke to him was when I saved his life. For some strange reason he had been leaning out over the edge of the school and had almost fallen. I had grabbed him from behind and pulled him back. I was not surprised to see him doing community service with me and Warren Peace a while later. What surprised me was the attachment Jacob formed with him.

Slowly during those days Lash got to know Jacob better, I witnessed a real change in Lash. He became less aggressive, and less eager for a fight. I found myself slowly beginning to like him more and more until I was sure I was in love with him.

Today I listened impatiently in class, waiting for the time the lunch bell would ring so I could talk with Lash. When the bell finally did ring, I made my way hurriedly out the doors and into the front lawn of the hovering school. I looked around for Lash but could not spot him. Then a white and black striped arm came out of nowhere and tapped my shoulder. I turned and watched it snake through the air back to where it had come and then headed that way.

When I arrived at the place, Lash took me in his arms and hugged me tightly. I was slightly surprised at this display of affection in public, but returned the hug graciously. After a few moments I pulled away and looked up into his face.

"Lash," I said. "What is it you wanted to tell me?"

He sighed and turned to walk toward a tree and lean against it, facing me.

"Did you know that Alex is like, in love with you?"

I started and then frowned. "I do not understand. Alex is my friend; I love him like a brother. How can what you say be true?"

Lash rolled his eyes. "I've known since Homecoming. He didn't want me to take you. I could tell. But anyway, the reason I'm telling you this is because since he thinks you hate him, he might have done something drastic. Something like joining Royal Pain."

My frown deepened. "But she is in jail, no?"

"Yes, she is. But she set her academy up to keep going even if she was caught. She had this second-in-command dude. I never saw him. I don't think any of the kids did. But there were kids there and still are if the Bureau hasn't gotten to them. Any chance Alex might have joined up? I can see him as a dark, angsty villain."

I punched Lash lightly in the arm at his teasing grin. "Lash, this is serious! If he's joined a villain academy, a secret one at that, how in the world are we going to find him and get him back?"

"How do you know he even _wants_ to come back? Alex is a freak, Ana, he's gonna want to join other freaks."

Now I was becoming angry. "He is _not_ a freak Lash," I said sternly. "He's been abused and neglected and so he's withdrawn. He's just trying to start over."

"Well, he's not doing a very good job of it. I'm sorry Ana, I know how much you like the kid, but unless the Bureau launches an attack on Royal Pain's academy, we don't have much of a chance to get him back."

I sighed. Lash pushed off the tree and walked over to put his arm around me. I leaned against his shoulder. "He was hurting so much," I muttered. "And I paid no attention."

"You didn't know Ana, don't blame yourself."

"I should have known. He depended on me and I failed him."

"People make mistakes Ana, just hope that he forgives you . . . if we ever see him again."

I knew that he was right. There was nothing I could do for Alex now. The rest of the day passed uneventfully. When I got home, my mom was there. She held me while I cried. I was thankful that she was there for she was much more sympathetic than Lash. She simply let me cry my tears and then made me some hot chocolate.

After I was done and had gone to bed, I stared up at the ceiling. I wondered what Alex was doing and if he was having any more nightmares. I wished I knew exactly where he was. I wanted him home, in my arms, away from all the pain and suffering he was experiencing. But I knew that would not happen any time soon. And so I made up my mind right then and there to search more diligently for him, even if Lash thought it was a waste of time.

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**Review? . . . Please::attempts puppy dog eyes::**


	13. Hiatus

**A/N: This chapter is more of a filler chapter hence the title and the almost randomness of it. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 12/Hiatus**

I stared up at the wooden planks that held Connor's bed above me. He had switched beds now however, and Gabriel had moved in. Taking up the permanent marker that lay beside me, I added a few more lines to the bat that now graced the board directly above my head. It had been three weeks now since I had joined the academy. I had gained some weight and had become stronger physically and mentally and emotionally. I had not cut again since that one breakdown, and now only sketched in my spare time when I was not fighting Connor in the ring or practicing with Violet and Dr. Crypto.

Gabe dropped his head over the edge of the upper bunk and stared at me, his spiky hair pointing to the ground and his necklace flipping forward to knock against his nose.

"What are you drawing this time?" he asked, displaying his pointed teeth in a slightly disturbing grin.

I pointed to what I had just finished. "A bat."

He strained to see it and ended up flipping off of the top bunk onto the floor. Fortunately for him, he twisted in mid-air as lithe as a cat and landed on all fours, seemingly not hurt at all. I blinked at him.

"You okay?" I asked.

He nodded without a comment and crawled over to look up at the bat. He slowly grinned. "Sweet. You're really good at this drawing thing Alex."

I shrugged. "Thanks, I guess."

Gabe stood up and sat down on the edge of the bed, I sat up as well. He stared at me a moment and I frowned slightly, chewing on my lip ring which had completely healed by now.

"What?" I asked after a while.

"Is it true that Megan dumped Josh for you?" he asked calmly.

I frowned. "No." I said darkly.

He shrugged. "Okay."

There was silence. No one else was in the room except us. Karl and Adams were both training. Gabe was on his free period as was I. I tapped my chin with my black marker for a few minutes before turning to him and grabbing the back of his neck to tilt his head to the side, baring the right side of his neck towards me. He did not resist but only closed his eyes and stuck out his tongue between his teeth slightly.

I began drawing on his skin, unsure really of what to draw, but drawing nonetheless. People do strange stuff when they're bored I guess. The lines fleshed out into the face of a tiger, teeth bared in a cross between a growl and a feral smile. Perfect for Gabriel with his spiky (now orange) hair and slightly pointed teeth.

I let him go and he leaped up and ran to the bathroom to get a good look at it. He started laughing once he saw it but I knew it was not mocking laughter.

"Totally awesome!" he said, coming back into the room and sitting down on the ground in front of me. "I wish it were real." He sighed and stared up at me.

I stared down at him. An unofficial staring contest ensued.

"This is stupid," I growled softly, still not blinking.

"I know," he said off-handedly, not blinking either.

My eyes began to water. Gabe slowly grinned, seeming to know that he was winning. Just before I gave in however, Chanel burst into the room. Gabe and me both jumped and blinked.

"You blinked first!" Gabe was quick to say.

I shook my head stubbornly. Chanel looked at us both as though we had both grown two heads. She rolled her eyes.

"Staring contests are _so_ immature," she said, before sauntering over and sitting down very close to me. I let her. I had grown used to her attention and no longer pushed her away. It had gotten too stressful.

She reached up and ran her fingers through my hair before letting her hands rest on my shoulders. She began to massage them and I had to admit that it felt good.

Gabriel pouted at the attention I was getting. "Hey, I won the contest, that's got to count for something!"

I just smirked at him. Chanel gave him the finger before returning to me. I rolled my head and just let her work my back, the muscles relaxing after their hard work out earlier. Gabriel pouted a bit longer before snatching the marker from my hand and lifting my pant leg to draw little doodads on my white ankle. I let him.

Several minutes of silence passed. Gabe was paying close attention to his drawing on my ankle, his tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth. Chanel was traveling a little too close to my pants so I stopped her by leaning against her. She wrapped her arms around my chest and laid her head against mine. I tried to ignore her pungent smell.

"So it's not true about you and Megan?" she whispered in my ear.

I sighed and closed my eyes, shaking my head slightly. Her arms tightened around me and Gabriel looked up from his drawing.

"Yeah, it was a lie, Chanel. Don't worry; you've still got your precious Alex." He stuck out his tongue playfully at her.

She kicked at him but planted a kiss on my head. I groaned slightly inwardly but still did not pull away. I was a supervillain now . . . or at least one in training. I had to keep up my presence of CC&C. Still, enough was enough. I still did not like her like that and doubted I ever would. I sat up and shook Gabriel away from my ankle, leaning down to pull down my pant leg before standing.

"Where are you going?" Chanel asked, a pout in her voice.

"Training," I said shortly.

I left the two of them and stepped out into the white hallway, taking a deep breath before I started for the dome where I would meet up with Violet Walker.

When I arrived in the room, she was stretching against the far wall. I crossed my arms and stood watching her until she finished up. I could not help but admire her agile and nimble body. How she could twist into those strange positions I had no idea. I think she knew I was watching for she threw in a few extra moves. My lips twitched as I tried to hold back at smile.

She turned and flashed me an almost cheeky grin before shifting into her tiger form. She ran around and around the dome, muscles rippling underneath her black and orange fur. Her legs were powerful and they carried her swiftly and gracefully. She then ran a couple more laps before approaching me. She stopped short and gazed up at me with big green eyes flecked with gold. Her lips pulled back and revealed her sharp dangerous teeth. I reached over and stroked her head.

"Nice kitty," I smirked.

Her eyes sparkled with amusement before she shifted back, standing up and facing me. Without warning she struck out with her fist. I blocked her easily. She kicked at me and I blocked that as well. Before I really knew what was happening we were battling hard. Grunting and sweating, around and around the dome we went. Finally I knocked her down, placing my foot on her stomach and leaning on it slightly.

"Any last words?" I asked, sneering but not really meaning it.

She raised her eyebrows. "Meow?" she said, batting her eyelashes. I laughed but did not let up. I leaned down and gently touched the side of her neck.

"Touché," I said softly.

She nodded, smiling slowly. "Well done."

I got off of her and held out my hand to help her up. She consented and stood. Dropping my hand, she reached up to redo her hair.

"You've come a long way these past three weeks," she said approvingly. She lowered her arms and reached out to give my upper arm a squeeze. "You're not scrawny anymore and you actually beat me. Well done, Alex. Well done."

I bowed slightly. "It is my honor, Miss Walker."

She swatted at my head but I dodged it swiftly. She laughed and punched my arm gently.

"I've got a surprise for you coming soon," she said, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

I raised an eyebrow. She put her finger to her lips and shook her head. "Can't tell you. Stop begging."

I sighed and walked out of the dome with her. Moving over to a bench, I picked up the bottled water that I had placed there and started chugging it. Before I could finish it however, Violet grabbed it out of my hands and did herself. I let her, a smile playing about my lips as I saw her smirking mouth drink the rest of _my_ water.

When she was done, she tossed it into a trash can that was nearby. I nodded appreciatively.

"Nice."

She shook her head carelessly. "I try."

Then she left. Just like that. She never said goodbye. Watching her leave I thought of Magenta. Did she know her sister was in a villain academy? I had never gotten the chance to ask Violet yet why she stayed here. She always seemed way too nice to be the villain she was supposed to become here. But then again, I had seen her act pretty vicious toward other students.

I made my way back to the room. Karl was there, seemingly taking a nap, but Gabe and Chanel were no where to be seen. I stepped into the bathroom and got ready to take a shower. I looked at myself in the mirror before I did. Violet was right, I had filled out nicely. I curled my arm and admired the bulge that appeared as a bicep I never thought I'd have. I let my arm drop and observed my face.

I was still as pale as ever (and as I was still not allowed above ground I figured I would have to stay that way), and my hair was sticking to my face with sweat. My dark eyes no longer looked haunted. They looked resolved, cold almost. The dark liner that I still applied religiously stood out in my white face, giving me the look of a hardened punk of some kind. I liked the look; it made me feel stronger somehow.

I turned my gaze down to my lower arms. The scars there were still a painful reminder of my past. I traced one softly. They no longer hurt, but I knew they would be there forever.

I started the water and stepped in when it was warm. For a few moments I just stood there, letting the water wash over me, warming me from the outside in. Closing my eyes and tilting my head back, I felt the water pour over my face.

When I was finished I felt tired. My muscles still ached slightly from the work out so I quickly got dressed, ran a comb through my hair, reapplied my eye makeup and returned to the room. Karl glanced over at me and I froze. His face was covered with bruises. I stared at him wordlessly and he stared back.

I walked forward and knelt by the bed. Reaching up, I brushed some of his blond hair off of his forehead.

"Who?" I asked quietly.

"Does it matter?" he asked in reply, twitching slightly. "I was training and I wasn't quick enough. So I was punished. That's how things go around here." He twitched again, more violently this time.

I frowned. I knew the other kids had it a lot harder than me and sometimes I wondered why. Most of the kids thought it was because I was Megan's favorite. I figured it was because I just had Violet. She was different than the cruel trainers I had seen Karl and Gabriel work with. She never yelled at me, cursed, or beat me when I wasn't quick enough to grasp a concept or move. She patiently walked me through it, watching carefully for mistakes and then fixing them.

I realized again how much she stood out from the others. She was patient, she was kind, she never boasted nor bragged about her abilities, and she worked with me as a friend not as a dictator. How in the world had she come to be in this place?

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**Reviews are most welcome. :-D**


	14. Punishment

**Chapter 13/Punishment**

Later that night while we were changing for bed, I noticed the careful way in which Karl moved. When he removed his shirt, my jaw slackened slightly. Gabe looked over at my sharp intake of breath and his jaw tightened in a way that made his profile look exactly like Warren's. Adams was not in the room, for he had asked for a different room and we were still awaiting our new roommate.

Karl's back, side, and chest were covered with large purple, black, and green bruises. He twitched and glanced at us then down at the bruises he could see. I reached over and took his arm gently, he still flinched.

"Karl, you got to tell me," I said in a low tone. "Who did this to you?"

Karl would not look at me. He twitched his arm out of my grasp and reached for his sleep shirt. He put it on slowly, taking extra care not to bump any of the spots on his torso. I growled softly in my throat and narrowed my black-lined eyes at him.

"Tell me!" I insisted.

Gabe stepped forward. "He can't Alex. All of us get punished at one time or another. Sometimes we're just put under torture for other students to practice with their powers. It's an unspoken rule that no one tells on anyone else. There could be consequences for naming names."

He nodded, completely serious, which scared me somewhat. However, I was still seething. To see Karl beaten up like that and know I could do nothing about it was making me see red. Tossing my sleep shirt aside, I left the room in only my dark jeans, searching for someone to demand to know what had happened. My bare feet hardly made a sound on the cold, white floors and goose bumps appeared on the bare skin of my chest.

I found myself in the hallway of the girl's dorm and decided to just go see Violet. I knocked on her door and shifted from one foot to the other waiting for someone to open the door. She finally did, opening it wide and observing me bare-chested. She rolled her eyes and cursed underneath her breath.

"I hope this isn't some kind of weird, perverted dream," she said, somewhat sarcastically.

I forced a small laugh and shook my head. "No, it's not. Can I come in?"

I noticed she was wearing pajamas and was a little surprised by their modest appearance: simply a tank top with long, cotton pajama bottoms. I knew most of the girls here would not be so conservative, which made me wonder again what Violet was doing here.

She glanced behind her. "Well, the girls are off doing things, it's just me and Diane. Sure."

She stepped back and I walked in. Diane Stevens was on the top bunk of one of the beds, staring up at the ceiling in an almost comatose state.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked, pointing.

Violet looked up at her roommate. "Oh, she had to go through the Penalty Room," she told me with a careless shrug of her shoulders. She kept her body relaxed and her expression indifferent, but I thought I caught a troubled gaze flash across her eyes.

"Sit," she said, pointing to a chair in a corner. "And for Pete's Sake put a shirt on!" She kept her eyes turned away from me as I looked down at myself.

"How can I?" I asked. "I don't keep an extra shirt in my back pocket." I frowned.

Violet sighed and walked over to their dresser. Searching one of the drawers for a moment, she drew out a large jersey and tossed it at me. "My brother Indigo's," she explained. I nodded and pulled it on over my head. It was slightly big, but it did not dangle on me like it would have three weeks earlier. I had really gained weight.

After I put the shirt on Violet sat down on the floor in front of me and kept her gaze on me. "So . . . what's up?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Karl," I said simply.

She winced slightly. "Oh yeah, his punishment." She rubbed her forehead.

"It isn't right Violet! They shouldn't be allowed to do that to him. Someone needs to—" I cut off when I realized she was laughing, a high, cruel, bitter laugh.

"Alex! Alex!" she said, finally calming down. "This is a _villain_ academy." She shook her head, still smiling slightly. "Did you expect us to be like Sky High?" She sat up and placed her hands on my knees, leaning forward and staring into my face.

"You're part of the Hyde story now, Alex," she said in an ominous tone that gave me shivers. "No more playing around like Dr. Jekyll."

She let go of me and sat back, staring at me. I realized I had been holding my breath and let it out slowly.

"No one does anything about the system here. They—_we_ all agree that it is the best villain training facility in the country. And one of the reasons is that no one questions the authority. What happened to Karl can happen to you too if you don't keep your mouth shut about it."

I blinked. "You know, you can be really freaky sometimes," I said with a nervous laugh.

Violet gave me a calculating look. "I'm not kidding Alex," she told me, her voice serious.

I rang my tongue over my lip ring. I glanced up at Diane. "What's the Penalty Room?" I asked.

Violet followed my gaze and her expression turned sad for a brief moment. "That's where they send you when you do something to displease the teachers. No one wants to be sent there. It's a torture chamber." She shuddered slightly and cast her eyes to the floor.

I slid hesitantly out of the chair and knelt beside her on the ground. I touched her shoulder lightly.

"Have you ever been in there?" I asked quietly.

She nodded, not looking at me. After a pause she turned her face toward me. "Yes," she whispered.

Hardly realizing what I was doing, I reached around Violet and pulled her into a gentle hug. She clung to me and buried her face in my chest, her shoulders quivering like a frightened rabbit.

"Why did you come here?" I asked softly, stroking her head. "You don't belong here."

She did not answer right away. Pulling away after a moment, she looked into my eyes, her face impassive.

"That is my business," she said, somewhat coldly. She stood. "Don't worry about Karl. He'll make it through all right. He's tougher than most people think."

She walked over to the door and held it open, not looking at me. I took that as my signal to go and did so quietly, glancing at her hard expression once before turning away.

"Be careful Alex," I heard her whisper before shutting the door firmly behind me. I sighed and stuck my hands into my pockets, starting off down the hallway, still determined to find out who had done this to Karl.

00000000000

After questioning several students about Karl and gathering zero results, I finally found someone who seemed willing to talk. He would not talk to me out in the open though. He took my arm and jerked me into an empty classroom.

"What do you want to know about Karl?" he asked.

"What did he do?" I asked.

He leaned against the closed door and crossed his arms. "What's in it for me if tell you?"

I thought about that for a minute. "Protection?" I offered, thinking that in a place like this, having a personal bodyguard would be a definite plus.

Unfortunately I didn't really look the part. He snorted. "You?"

"I've been training," I said confidently. "With Violet."

"Right, the Kung-fu chick," he nodded absently. "Well, I don't know much about what happened, just that he did something to tick the teachers off. I think he was caught in one of their offices doing something in their files or something. Your name came up apparently."

I blinked. "My name?"

"Yeah, I guess some people out there have been asking about you and the Elridges don't want them to get too close. Karl was doing something that would compromise them or something. Look, I don't know the details. Is there anything else?"

I began to shake my head but then stopped. "Have you been in the Penalty Room?" I asked curiously.

Suddenly his face hardened and turned pale. "That's none of your business," he said through gritted teeth.

Turning away from me briskly, he opened the door and stepped out, leaving me alone in the room. I was at a loss as to what to do. I opened the door again and stepped out, almost running into someone. I stumbled back and was unfortunate to find that I had almost stumbled on Connor Adams.

"Stay out of my way," he hissed.

I stepped back quickly, not wanting to get any more on his bad side than I already was (if that was possible). He brushed past me and strode off down the hall. My dark eyes followed him.

Even without my powers I could sense the anger, hurt, and sadness bottled up inside of him. In the tense muscles of his back I could see the frustration over not being able to do anything about what had happened to his brother. Strange as it may have felt, I felt somewhat akin to him. I too had lost a brother in a horrible way. I too felt the anger, frustration, hurt, and sadness that Adams was experiencing.

I turned away then, and slowly made my way back to my room, feeling somewhat confused for sympathizing with my sworn enemy. I lay down on my bed and closed my eyes, wondering what exactly Karl had been doing in the Elridges' office.

My eyes had not been shut for very long before two large seniors burst into the room. I had barely enough time to register what was happened before I was being dragged out into the hallway.

"What is this?" I asked angrily. "The Gestapo?"

"Shut up," one senior said, and hit the back of my head hard. I blinked at the stars I saw. Doors began to open and more than one head peeped out. As soon as they saw me their eyes grew wide and they hid behind their doors once more. Somehow I had a feeling I was not going to enjoy what was going to happen next.

00000000000

"Alex, I must say: I am disappointed in you," Dr. Crypto said, shaking his head slowly.

I remained silent. He cleared his throat and kept up the mournful façade. He had me in a room that looked somewhat like an interrogation room. Sitting in a chair, I watched him pace back and forth, going between looking thoughtful and looking upset. I had not said a word since I entered the room and made no move to do so now.

"You were warned," he continued. "I know you were. Did not your classmates tell you to leave what happened to Karl alone? Now my son, you must suffer the consequences."

I didn't feel the need to point out that I was as much his son as he was my father. I did feel the need to find out what was going to happen to me. When he said consequences I finally looked up into his face.

"Yes, I am afraid for snooping around where your young nose does not belong; you are going to get a dose of the Penalty Room. Just a small dosage, not nearly enough to scar you like some of people here would like you to be. But no matter, it'll teach you the lesson you must learn."

I suddenly felt a wave of apprehension fall over me. However I was able to keep my face impassive; years of hiding my emotions from Ana Lucia had done honed that skill.

"Fortunately, or unfortunately depending, the Penalty Room allows you to use your powers."

My ears perked up when I heard that. Then I wondered how my powers of Empathy and Invisibility would help in a room that only I would occupy. It did not seem very likely that I would find any use for them. This frustrated me but I kept silent.

He took me roughly by the arm and hauled me to my feet. Opening the door, he shoved me inside a plain gray room about the size of a high security prison cell. I turned just in time to see the door close. I turned slowly back around and took a deep breath.

"Bring it," I said through gritted teeth, trying to brace myself for the horrors Violet had implied.

What happened however, I never could have been prepared for.

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**Ahhh cliff-hanger! :-P Soooooooo sorry about the lack of update for so long. This chapter really gave me some trouble. Please tell me what you think and I won't blame you if you think it was not as good as some of the others. I certainly think it wasn't.**


	15. The Penalty Room

**A/N: The last chapter has been updated with a small segment between where Alex talks to the informer and goes to see Dr. Crypto to make the transition between scenes smoother.**

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****Chapter 14/The Penalty Room**

The first thing I saw was what I didn't see. The room had gone black but I did not panic . . . yet. It was only when the lights came on again and the floor was the ceiling that I started to get a little uneasy. There had been a single chair in the middle of the room when I had walked in, now it was above me on the ceiling . . . I mean floor. Man this was confusing. I wondered how it was staying up there then figured it was bolted to the ceiling . . . ugh, floor.

I took a single step forward and suddenly I was spinning around and around in circles. I began to feel sick and I fell to my knees . . . and kept falling. Biting back a yell of terror, I looked down into what appeared to be a large chasm that had opened in the middle of the floor . . . or was it the ceiling? Whatever, it did not matter now for I was still falling.

Looking around for something to grab onto and stop my fall, my eyes finally lighted on a small ledge sticking out from the wall of the canyon. But just as my fingers curled around the edge of it, I slipped and fell to the floor, three feet under me, of room full of mirrors. I shook my head to clear it but that didn't help much. I stood slowly, watching multiple Alexs stand as well. I walked over to a mirror, wondering if they were real. I touched the cool glass and watched as my breath made a small circle of steam on it. Knocking my knuckles against it to test for stability, I found that it was real enough.

I caught sight of something out of the corner of my eye and turned quickly to see a flash of red in several of the mirrors. I stiffened. Was there someone else in the room with me? It seemed to be a room full of illusions and I realized that they could keep multiple people in here without anyone ever knowing there were others sharing the same punishment as them. This realization came with the questions: does everyone experience different illusions? Who set this all up? How did it work? This, of course, led to a major headache.

Holding my head against the pain, I walked over to where I thought I saw the red flash. It was gone, but I had expected that. I saw another flash to my left and turned toward it. Suddenly the mirrors began to move, shifting position and causing the room and my image to spin and twist in unnatural ways. It hurt my head to witness and I closed my eyes, pressing my fists into my eyelids, now fighting confusion as well as the intense headache.

I did not open my eyes again until I began to feel stiflingly hot, as if someone had turned up a heater or I had just walked into a room full of bright lights. I felt graininess seep into my shoes and looked down quickly. I frowned. My shoes were covered in sand. How did _that_ happen? I looked up and noticed that the mirrors were gone and instead I seemed to be in the middle of the Sahara desert or some such place. I coughed lightly as sand was picked up by some wind that blew past me. The wind was not cool however, just warm. It did little to relieve the warmth that was beginning to become overbearing. I bent and ran my fingers through the sand. How could it feel so real if it was just an illusion?

The heat seemed to suddenly increase and sweat had long since begun making its way down my back, head, face, and chest. Why did I have to like black so much? I knew black soaked in heat, but it had never been this bad. Suddenly I could not take it anymore and shed my shirt, shoes, and pants. Standing there in my boxers felt slightly weird, but it was better than nothing. I stepped forward only to jump back with a hiss as the sand burnt my feet. I realized I had to put my shoes back on if I wanted to move about. After slipping them on, I gathered up my clothes and began to walk.

After what seemed like hours my throat began to feel dry and I realized I was desperately thirsty. I looked around for an oasis of any kind. Of course there was none. And I knew enough about deserts to know that the patch of water ahead of me was nothing but a mirage. I sat down in the sand, exhausted, sore, and drenched in sweat. I began to feel the beginnings of a sunburn across my shoulders and wondered how that was even possible if I was still in the Penalty Room.

I closed my eyes and tried to forget about how miserable I was. However the heat would not allow relief of any kind. Sighing, I stood once more and began making my way toward the mirage, wondering if by some chance the makers of the illusion would have mercy on their poor victim and have some actual water in the friggin' place.

No such luck. I arrived at the mirage only to find that it was exactly that: a mirage. I gave a growl of anger and frustration that sounded a lot like Violet when she shifted into her tiger form. I dug my fingers into the sand and my shoulders sagged in defeat as I gave up all together. I wondered vaguely if I would simply die here.

I felt a sudden change in the weather and shivered as I was suddenly transported into a blizzard. While the cool wind and snow felt good for the first five seconds, I began to shake violently and hastened to put my clothes back on. When I had done so, I brushed the hair out of my face and scooped up some of the snow, putting it to my blistered lips, wanting a taste of the refreshing iciness. However as soon as the cold wetness touched my swollen tongue, it all abruptly disappeared and I was alone in the room where I had started. I gave a great cry and banged my fist against the hard floor, tears spilling down my cheeks, which surprised me for I didn't know I had any more water left in me.

The room seemed to be exactly the same as when I had first arrived, but looking around made me discover that it was different. The chair was gone and the walls were not walls but bars. I stood slowly and noticed I seemed to be inside some kind of cage. I groaned loudly as the door opened and a huge senior with red eyes and rippling muscles stepped into what I now saw was some kind of cage fight ring. I pressed myself against the bars and watched him warily, scanning him for emotions. My powers had not come in handy at any of the other illusions, maybe it would here.

I realized then, stupidly, that an illusion would not have emotions. Therefore I was surprised to sense anger, resentment, hatred, and, shockingly enough, fear in the large young man in front of me.

"Welcome to the Penalty Room," he boomed in a deep voice that made the bars rattle. He gave me a large feral grin full of sharp teeth that reminded me somewhat of Gabe's. However Gabe's pointed teeth were small and non-lethal. This guy's looked like they could tear a deer apart.

"Ready for a fight?" he asked, stepping toward me menacingly. I scurried away, staggering as I was still exhausted, and absolutely sure now that the Elridges were trying to kill me.

"They make you do this?" I asked, hoping, praying for another scene change. None came.

"Nah, I do it cuz I like taking little kid's heads between my hands and crushing them to pieces."

It was hard to tell if he was serious or not. I gulped rather loudly.

"Look," I said, my voice shaking and an octave higher than normal. I was quick to clear it and try again. "I don't want to fight you. Can't we just you know, wait for the next illusion to come?"

The young man laughed harshly. "What makes you think there _is _another illusion?" he asked, his eyes narrowing as he leaned down to stare into my face. I felt the blood drain from my face and began to feel quite sick. I had Violet's training engrained in my brain, but I was so weak and tired from my experiences in this torture chamber that I knew I would not be able to defeat him.

I realized my only hope for survival would be to get _him_ tired. With that in mind I promptly turned myself invisible. The giant's face hardened with malice. He ground his left knuckles into the palm of his right hand, his eyes searching the cage for me.

"Cute kid," he grumbled. "But you can't avoid me forever."

"I can try!" I piped up from behind him where I had stumbled while he was looking for me. He turned and swung his fist swiftly and I ducked, watching with some satisfaction as his fist rammed into the bars instead of my head. He howled in pain and stumbled back, wringing his hurt hand. I thought that if I could keep this up, I would have him exhausted in no time.

This went on for a while, with me ducking and dodging, and him swinging and cursing. Finally he got fed up and for some reason his eyes locked straight on mine and I got served a punch that sent me flying across the cage. My back hit the bars quite painfully and I slide to the floor, groaning and wondering how the heck he had seen me. I looked down at myself and saw that I was no longer invisible. I clenched my teeth and cursed inwardly, knowing they must have neutralized my powers so that I would get my 'punishment' thoroughly.

As I stood shakily, I attempted to scan the giant's emotions and found with surprise that I still could. I decided to use that to my advantage. I started channeling his anger and frustration, hoping that his adrenaline rush and rapid pulse would cause his heart to stop. Unfortunately I didn't think this plan through very well. It worked fine, but _he_ channeled those emotions into _me_ by punching and kicking me until I could hold out no longer.

I slumped to the ground in a bloody mess, every bone in my body screaming and every muscle crying. My vision grew blurry and I stayed conscious only long enough to see his fist coming at me again. Then my world grew dark and I welcomed the relief.

However my eyes did not stay closed for long. I felt soft grass beneath my head and a cool breeze ruffled my hair. I was afraid to open my eyes at first; afraid that this was another illusion and something horrible would occur. But then I heard the sound of people's voices and soft laughter from around me. The familiar sound of the engines of the buses at Sky High sputtered and coughed nearby and I opened my eyes with a slight frown. I could hardly believe my eyes but when I blinked hard and opened them again I found nothing changed. I was sitting on the grass near the front steps of former school.

Kids were walking back and forth, chatting with each other. I stood slowly, wondering if this was another illusion. However when I looked down at myself I noticed that there was not a scratch on me. Feeling rather suspicious, I made my way up the large concrete steps to a group of teenagers who were hanging out near the doors.

"Excuse me," I said, clearing my throat. They went on talking as if I had not said a word. I was used to being invisible to people (even when I was not using my powers) but they did not even blink. I waved my hand in front of one girl's face but she did not respond. I realized then that I must have been in a dream. But it all seemed so real. I reached down and pinched my arm. It hurt but nothing happened.

Figuring I was in a coma of some kind, I looked around to school yard, thinking that I might as well catch a glimpse of Ana Lucia. I did not see her but I did see something that made my jaw drop and my eyes bulge (something I knew did not make me look attractive at all but I figured if no one could see me I was good).

What I saw was me, myself, walking down the steps of one of the newly arrived school buses. I was younger, a freshman, and my ignorance clearly showed on my baby-face. Wide-eyed and jumpy, I shied away from anyone who came remotely close to me as I made my way up the steps. I rubbed my now thin (one could say almost gaunt) cheek as I watched the painful site. I had still worn all black back then, but my hair was shorter and I did not have the lip ring.

It was strange, watching myself as I was back then. It seemed so long ago when really it had only been a year and a half. I wondered if I was somehow seeing the past or if this was still a dream. I saw Brutus, Brock, and Butch watching me from across the yard, sniggering behind their hands and I could just hear their thoughts, planning out how they were going to stuff me in lockers and beat me up in Save the Citizen when Lash and Speed weren't the ones doing it. It was almost painful to see.

I stepped closer to my younger self, wondering if I could communicate to myself in some way, maybe change some of the past. No such luck. I didn't even look at me as I passed by. Just as I was wondering what to do next, I saw Lash, in all his freshman bully glory, with Speed at his side, stretch across the yard to land in front of me.

"Dude, all freshmen got to pay the entrance fee of five bucks, so pay up." Speed looked rather gleeful as Lash held out his hand. I watched with a grimace as my younger self's eyes widened and darted about, looking for a chance to escape.

"Come on kid, don't get yourself on our bad side," Lash said with a devious half-smile.

"Heck, it's bad enough being on our good side!" Speed exclaimed, cracking up at his own joke. I rolled my eyes and could not help but grin slightly. I knew what happened next. I watched as I promptly disappeared and skirted around them, leaving them looking rather ridiculous with Lash's hand out in thin air. I saw his face darken and his hand curl into a fist.

"Dude, that is not cool," Speed said. I raised my eyebrow in interest. I had not seen this part.

Lash seemed to shrug off the experience but I could tell his pride was hurt. Knowing how he was now, it was interesting to see him again as a bully. As it was he seemed to take the whole thing well. Then I remembered that Friday's Save the Citizen round: my first round against Lash and Speed.

I found myself in the bleachers then, as if I had been transported. I looked around but saw no one but the students. At least at first glance I saw no one. The second glance I saw a small blonde head making its way down the bleachers. The head was too small to be a high school student. I made my way towards it hurriedly. I had just reached the end of the bleachers when something slamming against the side of the Save the Citizen ring next to me, startling me and drawing my attention to the fight inside.

It was Lash and Speed as the Villains against two kids named Audrey and Steve as the Heroes. The two Heroes had just lost. Steve had been the one to hit the plexiglass wall. The two sophomores slunk out of the ring to the showers and Lash and Speed called their next victims: Kristi Drake and Alex Newton.

I winced as I watched myself, pale and trembling, stand up slowly and make my way to the ring. Kristi Drake followed me down. She was a pretty thing, with blonde hair, glasses, and alabaster skin. She had been a junior then, and had already come close to mastering her power of cyrokinesis.

We stepped into the ring and I placed my hands on the plexiglass to watch what I knew was about to happen next. The first thing Kristi did after the bell rang was cover the floor around Speed in ice. When the bully tried to run over it, he slipped and slid across the ring. He got up again and tried to come at her, but she simply put up a wall of ice in front of him. He ran into it and bounced back, shouting out in pain. I glanced back to where I stood facing Lash. I knew Kristi was giving me a way to free the citizen, but I also knew I could only use one of my two powers. I remembered the struggle I had trying to decide which one to choose. As it was, I had not yet mastered the skill manipulating emotions, all I could do was read them and feel them. That would not help.

So instead I turned invisible. I watched, fascinated, as Lash looked around for me and suddenly flipped down onto the floor on his back (I remembered grabbing his heel and pulling hard). This just made him angry and instead of going after me again, he stretched out his arm and grabbed Kristi around the waist, pulling her back and then smashing her into her own brick wall. She crumpled to the ground. This made me angry but I knew there was no way I could take on both Lash and Speed. I glanced at the Citizen, then at Kristi who was lying very still next to her ice wall. Lash and Speed grinned at each other and Lash reached out and grabbed the wall. I watched horrified, just as I did then, as he began to pull it to make it fall on top of Kristi's prone body.

I gritted my teeth as Speed ran over and pushed against it, obviously helping his buddy out. I watched as I materialized once more, glancing from the citizen to Kristi's body. I could remember my thought process exactly: the Villains were distracted, I could have made a break for the citizen and saved him, but at what cost to Kristi? Could I leave her for a casualty of war? Finally I made a decision.

Leaving the citizen lowering dangerously over the spinning blades, I rushed over to the wall and placed myself between it and Kristi's body, lifting my hands and catching it as it fell over. I dug my heels into the ground and gritted my teeth as I held the hunk of ice over the girl. Lash and Speed rejoined at the other end of the ring and stood smirking at me. The clock began to tick down. The students counted the numbers as they decreased. Water from the melting ice block soaked into my back and hair and dripped down onto Kristi's face. Her nose twitched and to my relief she seemed to be waking up.

The buzzer sounded and the citizen was demolished. The crowd went wild and Kristi woke up. She looked up at me and I looked down at her. She had smiled then, a quirky little smile that made her ice blue eyes sparkle.

"My hero," she whispered, and although I could not hear it from where I stood watching, I remembered it clearly. She had sat up then and reabsorbed the ice, leaving me holding empty air. I had fallen to the ground, soaked and exhausted.

The scene slowly faded away and I found myself in a long hallway. A small kid with blonde hair stood at the end of it. I couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl until I drew closer. Big, dark blue eyes looked up at me, blonde curls frizzed out at about mid-neck length. She (for I could tell it was a girl now), looked up at me with a serious expression that reminded me of Sarah Silbernagle, Lash's little sister. She looked about nine or ten years old and was wearing a red blazer. I looked all around us then looked down at her.

"Are you doing this?" I asked curiously.

She nodded, the tiniest of smiles flickering across her solemn features. I knelt in front of her so I could be closer to her level, looking up at her.

"Why did you come to me?" I asked.

"I do not go to people," she said softly, her voice strangely low for a little girl. "They come to me."

"Why?" I asked, frowning slightly.

"They have questions," she answered simply.

My frown deepened. "I don't think I have a question."

"Yes," she said, giving a silent snort of laughter. "You do."

I thought hard about that. Did I have a question? And if I did, what kind of question was it? Then I realized something.

"I have two paths ahead of me," I said cautiously, willing to speak in riddles since she seemed to be. "And I don't know which one to take." I looked up at her expectantly.

With another tiny smile, she leaned over and placed a hand on my shoulder, looking deep into my eyes.

"You already have the answer you seek," she said quietly, earnestly.

I blinked, confused. "What?"

She straightened and gave me a slightly wider smile. Turning, she walked away. I frowned again and hurried after her. "Wait!" I called. "What's my answer?"

But she was gone. Scratching my head, I turned back, only to find myself in the Save the Citizen arena, looking at myself holding the wall of ice over Kristi, only a couple feet away. I could see myself and her clearly from where I stood and as she opened her eyes and smiled, I could hear her voice in my head as if she was speaking it right to me now.

_"My hero."_

I blinked, wondering if I was seeing what I thought I was seeing. I saw a small blonde head move out from behind the block of ice and look me straight in the eye.

"You have your answer," she said softly and slowly grinned. My world then faded back into the unyielding darkness it had gone to before, this time without interruption.

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**Soooo sorry about the delay! I hope this uber long chapter makes up for it. :-D Btw, I can't take credit for the Penalty Room scene, I got my inspiration from _The Phantom of the Opera_ (book) and _The Nightmare Academy_ by Frank E. Peretti. And I can't take credit for the dream sequence either. I borrowed it from an episode of Heroes (kudos to you if you guess which one ;-) ). Some of the words of the girl and Alex in that dialogue is taken directly from that episode so I don't own any of it. Please review and tell me what you think of this super long chappy! :-D**


	16. Interlude: Lash

**A/N: Wow, this has to be the fastest I've updated in a while. :-P This chapter brings us back to the original Sky High gang with a POV from Lash. Enjoy. :-)**

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**Chapter 15/Interlude: Lash**

By the end of the first month I had to admit to myself: I missed that Goth/emo kid. It surprised me when I first felt it, but day after day of seeing Ana Lucia's heartbroken face, and week after week of not sensing that bleak hovering presence began to get to me. I felt bad for not having really noticed him. That surprised me to. I mean, the kid wanted to be invisible; he never seemed to mind the many times he was overlooked. In fact he seemed to prefer it. But I guess he really did want someone to notice him. That's why I felt bad, because I didn't notice him. Because I didn't _want_ to notice him.

However I still did not have the motivation to actually go out and look for him until today. I was sitting with the group at Sky High (geez, when did I ever think I'd refer to the dweebs as "the group"? Sometimes I wonder if I ever should have let Layla talk me into hanging out with them), when this girl walks up to me. I know I've seen her around, she's blonde, cute, with glasses, but I didn't remember her name or anything. I did remember that she and Warren had dated for a while after Homecoming, which was weird because she has ice powers and he has fire powers. Not very compatible which is probably why the broke up (well, Layla said it was more complicated than that but I _really_ didn't want to hear about Warren Peace's love life . . . or lack thereof).

Anyway she came up to me and asked if she could speak to me in private. Casting a glance at Warren I decided that privately would probably be best. Warren pretended not to notice her, but I could see the sidelong look he gave her. Layla instantly became ten times perkier as I left, probably in an attempt to lighten the mood. I was suddenly glad I was leaving.

I followed the girl (oh what was her name? Missy? Chrissy?) out into the hallway. I leaned against a couple of lockers and folded my arms, watching her and hoping she would provide me with her name before we started an actual conversation.

"I need to ask you something," she said, instead, earnestly. I sighed.

"Could you at least give me your name first?" I asked, somewhat impatiently. "I mean, you're cute and all, but I can't for the life of me remember your name."

She gave me a withering look to show me how much she did not appreciate my sense of humor.

"Kristi," she said shortly. "Kristi Drake. Cyrokinetic? Ring a bell?"

Then I remembered, rather painfully too as a memory of almost squishing her with her own ice came to the front of my mind. "Right, Drake. Freeze-girl. What do you want?"

Her pale eyebrows came together over her thick, black glasses and for a moment she reminded me somewhat of Ana Lucia. "I _want_ to know what you plan to do about finding Alex Newton."

I blinked. "Say what?" I asked, frowning as well.

She stepped closer and spoke slower, as if talking to a child. "What . . . are . . . you . . . going to do . . . about finding . . . Alex Newton?"

I huffed in frustration. "I heard you the first time," I pointed out, bringing my foot up to rest on the lockers as well. She looked at me and I looked back at her until she threw up her hands in her own aggravation at my lack of response.

"Well?" she demanded, red blotches making their way up her neck. I watched fascinated for a moment before pulling my eyes back up to her smoldering eyes. I winced inwardly.

"What do you _want_ me to do?" I asked, shrugging helplessly. "The kid's run off, there's nothing I can do about that. I wouldn't even know where to start looking for him."

"You worked for Royal Pain," she said, almost seething at this point.

"So?" I asked, not really trying to be difficult, just not seeing her point at the moment.

"So! You know about the villain academy!" She was practically shouting now and I was starting to feel her wrath descend upon me. The lockers behind me felt strangely colder than they had been when I first leaned against them. "You can find it! You can get him back!"

I stepped away from the lockers quickly just in time for them to be covered by a layer of thick ice.

"Villains don't really trust me nowadays," I pointed out, trying my best not to feel guilty at not jumping to help. "And what do you care anyway?" I asked suddenly, crossing my arms again and glaring down at her, daring her to give me a good reason for her wanting me to help so badly.

Her face suddenly grew serious and the ice began to retract. "Alex is a hero," she said. "_Not_ a villain. He saved my life in that Save the Citizen round . . . if you'll remember." She gave me a hard look that really made me cringe.

"I wasn't going to let it crush you," I muttered, shifting my gaze to the ground.

"I didn't think you would," she said lightly. "But he still chose me over the citizen and got a chewing out for it too from Boomer, some wouldn't call that heroic, but I would. He valued my well-being more than he did his P.E. grade or his reputation. He is not a villain; he belongs here. At Sky High."

The ice was completely gone now and her voice had grown soft, almost tender. I began to relax (but only slightly). Rubbing the back of my neck I thought over her words, seriously this time, and saw the logic behind it. I didn't know much about Alex, but I knew the kid did not deserve to have his life ruined in that way. Bringing my eyes back up to meet hers, I nodded slowly.

"Sure," I said, giving her a vague half-smile. "I'll see what I can do. But I can't promise anything."

Kristi Drake smiled then, and I noticed how much of a difference it made. It was much nicer than when she scowled. She clasped her hands together under her chin and closed her eyes briefly before opening them again and nodding.

"Thank you," she said earnestly. "Thank you very much."

My smile grew. "No problem," I said smoothly, sounding a lot more confident then I felt. She reached out and squeezed my arm lightly before turning away and walking back toward the cafeteria. I shivered slightly as I touched my now cold sleeve and made my own way back, wondering how the heck I was going to do anything about the situation.

It was only when I sat back down among the group when I realized what I would have to do. I had to talk to Speed and Penny, my former cohorts and now juvenile delinquents. This was not going to be a picnic.

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In the end I had to ask Warren's help to get into the prison. He had visited his father once and I guess the time was pretty memorable for the warden recognized him. Unfortunately he also recognized me. Needless to say he wasn't very happy to see me again. He warned me to stay out of trouble but allowed me to see Speed and Penny. Separately of course. And, of course, Warren simply slapped me on the back and left me as soon as I got into the visiting room.

I sighed and sat down in the chair, reaching over to pick up the ominous black phone that would connect me to the chubby kid in the orange jumpsuit on the other side of the glass. He had lost some weight since I had last seen him, but looked a lot tougher than I remembered. His eyes held a cold look and his face was pale. I could see circles under his eyes too. Grimacing inwardly, I braced myself for whatever snide comment he would give me.

"Well lookie who decided to visit the inmate," Speed's sarcasm oozed through the glass without the help of the phone. "Come to visit your best friend finally. What's up with that? You never call, you never write. I was beginning to think you were giving me the cold shoulder for some reason."

I gritted my teeth. "Look Alvin," I said, purposefully using his real name to irk him. "I didn't come here for small talk. I need you to tell me what Royal Pain told you about her villain academy."

"So the player wants help from the guy he sold out," Speed summed up. "Backstabbing's not a good way to win friends and influence people . . . _Stanley_." He smirked and my grip around the phone piece tightened.

"Look, if you help me I'll put a good word in for you," I promised, crossing my fingers underneath the counter.

"Why do you need the info?" he asked suspiciously.

"A friend's in trouble," I muttered.

"Hey! _This_ friend is in trouble!" Speed complained. "What about me? You going to get me out of the slammer if I help you?"

"I can't promise that," I said, my voice strained as my grip tightened further. I remembered being his friend. It tore me up inside to see him on the other side of that glass, knowing there was not much I could do to help him. The guilt of squealing to the Bureau of Superhero Assistance about everything Royal Pain had told me and about the things Speed and Penny had done began gnawing at my stomach and I knew I couldn't take it for long.

"Royal Pain only told me how to get halfway. I know she told either you or Penny how to get the rest of the way." I leaned forward and looked into Speed's impassive face intently, holding the phone to my ear so tightly the poor piece of flesh began to throb in protest.

"Speed," I said earnestly. "If you help me find the academy, the Bureau will lighten your sentence, maybe even let you go. They want to find the Academy, you know they do. If you just help them, and me, we could get you out of here."

Speed looked at me solemnly. "Dude," he said softly, "I wish I could help you. I really do. You think I feel like I owe anything to Royal Pain? That royal pain in the butt is the one that got me in here. But she didn't tell me the rest of the way. I was the one that was supposed to take you two out as soon as the job was done."

I felt the blood drain from my face and Speed hastened to reassure me that what I was thinking was not what he meant.

"I wasn't going to kill you guys, you know I'm too cowardly to do that. I was just, you know, going to hand you over as a 'concerned citizen.' I've never been really smart Lash, you know that. I never figured that she would double cross me in the end, but now I know she would have turned me into a baby just like everyone else once she was done with me."

I sighed, although if it was from relief or sympathy even I wasn't sure.

"There's nothing you can give me that might help me get you out of here?" I asked, loathing the very thought that Penny might get out and not Speed. He shook his head slowly.

"Nothing that's relevant now," he confessed. "Sorry dude."

The guard came into the room, telling me that my time was up. I turned back to Speed and started to say something, but all he did was look at me for a moment before hanging up the phone and turning away. I pounded my fist on the counter and slammed the phone back onto his holder. Standing abruptly, I pushed the guard's hand away and made my own way to the door, storming over to the other side of the jail where they kept the women. It was time to interrogate Penny.

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"And what, exactly, makes you think I'm gonna tell _you_ anything?" Penny's condescending voice sounded irritatingly familiar and once again I had to control my temper.

"Penny, _please_," I begged through gritted teeth.

She studied me for a moment, absently playing with her hair. It was long and still as silky as ever. I wondered how the heck she managed to keep it look so nice while in prison. "You know, you're awfully cute when you're groveling," she said with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes and leaned back in my chair. "I'm not groveling," I insisted with a dark glare.

She shrugged and flipped the dark hair over her shoulder. "Well whatever it is, it ain't gonna work on me. Sorry Lash, no can do."

I growled under my breath. "We're talking about you getting out of this place, Pen," I said, trying to sound more persuading and less forceful and desperate. "Come on, you gotta hate it here."

Penny looked thoughtful and I knew I was making _some_ headway.

"Shopping, cheerleading, boys," I listed off the things I knew she would find enticing. "All those things in a normal life you can have if you just _help_ me."

She studied me for a moment before her dark lips curled upward in a slight smirk. "Can you add a date on that list?"

I blinked. "A date?" I asked, dumbfounded. "You mean with _me_?" I had no idea how to respond to this as it was totally unpredictable.

Penny and I had never been a thing in high school. Sure we flirted some but everyone does that with peers of the opposite gender. At least everyone like us do. It was part of the high school experience. I never had actually entertained the idea of actually asking her out. I didn't think she was really my type. Besides, do you _really _think I wanted to go out with multiple Penny's yapping my ear off? No thank you.

However my mind was apparently not playing tricks on me for Penny nodded and inspected her fingernails (which, surprisingly enough, were also well kept). "Yeah. I want a life free of those Bureau jerks watching me like kids watching an ant farm, I want to go back to Sky High, and I want a date with you. Those are my terms."

I fumed inwardly for a while. Who did she think she was demanding that of me? Then I remembered she was, in fact, the only key I had to saving Alex and finding the Supervillain Academy. Weighing my options, I figured Ana Lucia would rather me go out with Penny once than to let Alex live the life of a super villain. I huffed in resignation, the hair that still hung swept to one side of my face rustled at the disruption in the air.

"Fine," I said. "I'll talk to the Bureau about it."

"I want it in writing before I say anything," Penny declared and I ground my teeth.

"Does the date thing have to be in writing too?" I asked.

She smiled a sickly-sweet smile. "No, I'll just hold you to it."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine," I said again. "I'll be back."

I hung up the phone with a lot more force than was necessary and stalked out of the room and building. Warren was there waiting for me. He flexed his hands and I knew he was inching to kick some villain butt.

"Well?" he asked, his eyes flashing. I took a step back involuntarily.

"She wants me to go out with her," I said through gritted teeth. Warren looked stunned for a moment before throwing back his head and laughing out loud, not helping my mood at all.

"You going to do it?" he asked when he was done cackling his head off.

"What other choice do I have?" I muttered, stuffing my hands deep inside my pockets. "She wants some other stuff too. We're going to need to go to the Bureau."

He nodded and walked back to his car. I followed reluctantly. This all had not gone how I had planned and I felt things were going to get just more complicated in the future.

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**I think Penny's going to be a bit of a handful, don't you? ;-) Review and tell me what you think of the chapter! :-D  
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	17. Awakening

**Chapter 16/Awakening**

I felt a hand on my forehead but I did not open my eyes right away, afraid that it would be _her_ again. Her dark lips curling upwards seductively and her brown eyes flashing with a look that made my limbs grow cold. I didn't want to have to deal with irrational and unwanted feelings at the moment. Everywhere on my body I felt pain. In my head it was especially agonizing. The last thing I remembered consciously seeing was that monster's fist coming at me. Then had come that dream. That really, very strange dream.

I heard a sigh of impatience come from somewhere above me and cool fingers pushed my dark hair back before tapping my forehead sharply with a single slender finger.

"Come on Alex, I know you're awake. Open your eyes, you idiot. You're worrying me."

That was definitely not Megan's voice. I cracked open an eye and squinted up into the concerned face of Violet Walker.

"Oh, it's you," I said in a tone of indifference. I was rewarded for my impertinence with a hard smack on my arm. "Ow."

"That's all you say?" she exclaimed hotly. "You're unconscious for a week and you wake up and the first thing you say to me is 'it's _you_'?!"

I grimaced and forced myself up into a sitting position, inhaling sharply at the pain in my ribcage. I knew I must have broken several of my ribs. I was somewhat shocked by her words. Had I really been unconscious that long? Looking into Violet's enraged face I gave her a lopsided smile.

"So, Vi, you didn't miss me, did you?"

She pursed her lips but I could see she was fighting a smile. "Maybe a little," she said lightly.

I laughed . . . and instantly regretted it as I started coughing and the pain in my chest worsened. Violet's expression turned to one of worry and she stood from her seat beside me and hurriedly forced me to lie down again. I frowned but she shook her head.

"It's better for you to lie still, really." She pulled the covers up and then sat down again, only this time closer. Leaning forward she stroked my hair back gently, her fingers feeling cool against my flushed skin.

"Why did you do it, Alex?" she asked in a pleading tone, and I was surprised to hear a small sob hidden in her voice. I did not need my powers to feel the wave of concern, fear, and affection flowing from her onto my broken body. The concern did not surprise me, but the fear and affection did. I frowned slightly as I realized that the fear was not for herself, but for me. And the affection . . . I really did not know how that factored in. It was just there.

"I needed to know," I murmured, avoiding her gaze. "Karl is my friend."

"Hey," she said gruffly, and took my chin in her hand, turning my face toward her. "_You_ are _my_ friend." She released my chin and stroked my pale cheek with her knuckle. "And I don't like to see my friends get hurt," she added in a quiet voice full of what seemed to be regret. Once again I wondered what had happened to bring her here.

Slowly she began to pull back her hand. I reached up and grabbed her wrist. "Violet," I said in a tone that demanded her attention. "Why are you here?"

Her expression was instantly guarded. "I was worried about you," she said, gently trying to pry her arm from me. I tightened my grip.

"No," I half-growled in impatience. I tired of not knowing the things that were going on in this Academy. "I don't mean _here_. I want to know why you are here in this Academy."

"That's none of your business," Violet said with a hard glare, tugging harder at her arm. I pulled myself up by the hand that still held her wrist in a death grip, staring grimly into her eyes.

"Violet, I've worked with you in the training dome. I've felt your emotions. You're not like the others, I can tell. You don't belong here."

She looked at me with sad eyes. "Neither do you, Alex," she said in a soft voice. Something about her words tugged at my insides, but I let it pass for now. We were talking about her.

"Don't change the subject," I warned her with a pointed look. Her eyes danced away from mine, focusing on the stark white bed sheets that covered me.

"My-my place is here," she said. My grip on her wrist tightened and she winced. I realized I was hurting her and so I quickly let go. She took back her arm and began rubbing the now reddened wrist gently. I tried not to feel guilty about it.

"I don't believe that," I told her obstinately. "Do you seriously want to go out there when you graduate and hurt, maim, and _kill_ people all so Royal Pain can have her empire or whatever?"

Violet's lips tightened. "You couldn't understand," she said firmly.

"Then help me understand!" I yelled. My chest felt like it was exploding, the pain was so great. "Think about your family? Do you _want_ to hurt them? I know Magenta. I've felt her feelings. She's in _pain_, Violet. Don't you think you might be the cause of that?"

"I know I am!" she cried suddenly. "That's why I left! I was hurting them!"

"You're hurting them even more! Nothing has changed, you just made it worse!" I wondered vaguely if anyone could hear us outside the room and, if they did, wondered if they would storm in to tell us to shut up.

"I didn't mean to!" She suddenly buried her face in her hands, her body shaking with sobs. "I didn't mean to."

I grimaced, wondering if my powers of Empathy were working even with the power draining installations in the school. I moved closer to her and cautiously wrapped my arms around her trembling shoulders, holding her close and feeling like a monster for making her cry. I stroked her soft, black hair gently and rested my cheek against the top of her head as she moved slightly to the side in order to fit better against my chest with the least possible damage to my aching ribs.

"Gosh Vi," I muttered. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry."

She only sobbed harder. I bit down on my lip ring and held back a sigh at my own stupidity. I rubbed her back comfortingly.

"Please don't cry," I begged, feeling incredibly awkward. I could feel her tears leaking through her hands and soaking into my white infirmary shirt. I sighed then, realizing that anything I said at this point would not help.

Finally her tears died down enough for her to pull away, wiping at her eyes and looking rather sheepish. "Sorry," she said, looking at my wet shirt guiltily. I waved her off.

"Don't worry about it." I waited patiently.

When she had sufficiently gotten her cheeks to a level of preferred dryness, she looked up at me with red-rimmed eyes.

"I'm a murderer, Alex," she said in a dull voice, with no introduction or speech before hand. I felt a cold weight drop in my stomach.

"That can't be right," I said with a frown. "I can't see you killing anyone."

She looked at me with a haunted expression that made my blood run cold. It was a worse feeling then when Megan looked at me. I shook my head slowly, the movement growing swifter as I continued.

"No," I said firmly. "No I refuse to believe it. Something must have happened. A-a misunderstanding or something." I realized I was growing desperate in my attempt to keep Violet pure and good in my mind. She gave me a small, sad smile as if she knew that was exactly what I was trying to do.

"It's the truth. Take it or leave it." She reached over and took my shoulder, gently guiding me back down toward the pillows. I had to admit I felt some relief as my body relaxed back onto the bed.

"I still say it's a misunderstanding," I insisted, frowning up at her. My head felt like seven little dwarfs were mining jewels in it.

"Drop it, Alex," she warned harshly, some of her old bitterness and sternness returning. As she looked down at me however, her eyes softened. Bending over, she gently placed a kiss on my forehead. I looked quizzically up at her, wondering what that had been for.

She stared into my eyes; her face still only inches from mine. "Huh," she said softly. "That's interesting."

I swallowed and blinked blankly. "What?" I asked, puzzled by her words and scrutiny.

"Your eyes," she said in a thoughtful tone. "They're dark brown. I could have sworn they were black."

My expression was still incredibly blank as she straightened and smiled vaguely down at me, before turning and leaving the room. My eyes followed her, a myriad of thoughts bombarding my mind. All the information about Violet made its way through my thought process system, but strangely one thing stuck with me.

As I watched her leave I realized that she was the first one to ever notice: my eyes were not black like everyone always thought. My eyes were dark brown.

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I was released from the infirmary a couple days later. They told me I'd have to come back every once in a while for pain medication. My ribs were still mending and had to be wrapped tightly in gauze and such. My face still felt pretty battered, and when I looked in the mirror the day I was released I had to grimace. I had a black eye, a swollen lip, and a large bruise covering my cheekbone. Sighing, I turned away from my reflection.

The first order of business was to sit down and endure another group training session in the dome. I sat down gingerly next to Karl who gave me a sympathetic look. Chanel glanced at me and looked over my bruises thoughtfully. I knew she wanted to heal them, but no one could use their powers until they were in the dome. I hoped they would not pick me to fight anyone. I was in no way in shape.

Thankfully they never did pick me. Instead they picked several other students I did not recognize. I tried to concentrate on the fighting styles to try to learn from them, but every time I saw blood and every time I heard bone crunch, I flinched and felt sick to my stomach. Time in the Penalty Room had affected me, and not in a way that was helpful at this time.

After a couple matches Gabe was called up along with some kid named Watson that I did not know. They entered the training dome and I saw that Gabe must have bribed a technopath or something because attached to his palm was a small mechanism. I wondered briefly what it was for but did not have to wonder long for suddenly a stream of fire shot from his hands toward the other boy. The boy twisted away and suddenly morphed into what looked like a smaller version of the Hulk. He took a swing at Gabe, but Gabriel nimble as a cat, as always, ducked and weaved and caught the other kid right in the face with a blast of fire.

The mini-Hulk roared in pain and anger in a way that made me cringe. Beside me Chanel was leaning forward, watching the match eagerly. Karl was twitching harder than ever. I glanced at him worriedly, hoping he would not throw himself into convulsions. I laid a hand on his shoulder and he looked back at me, calming down somewhat at my reassuring grasp.

I turned my attention back to the dome, gritting my teeth slightly. Gabriel was obviously winning. The mini-Hulk was too busy trying to keep away from the fire to make much more of an attack on the pyrokinetic. At one point his massive fist did smack Gabe across the dome and he was very still for a few long, tense seconds. Then he struggled to his feet, spewing out even more fire at mini-Hulk.

Finally mini-Hulk could not take the pain anymore. He shrank back to his normal size and form and I inhaled sharply when I saw that he was covered in burns. However my horror did not stop there. Instead of ending the match and letting the medics take the kid away, Gabe continued to direct his fire on the kid. I was not close enough to see Gabe's expression, but when I peered closer I could see the lights flashing off his slightly pointed teeth. He was _grinning_. My stomach heaved and I felt like I was going to be sick.

"Why doesn't he stop?" I cried, turning to Chanel with wide eyes.

"Why should he?" she asked indifferently, shrugging.

"He's killing him!" I said, turning to Karl. The boy only flinched and avoided my gaze. I stood up swiftly, making my way out of the benches and down the steps toward the dome, knowing that I needed to stop Gabe. As I got closer I could begin to smell smoke and the scent of burning flesh. It was enough to make my lunch churn and start making its way up my throat. I held it back resolutely. Also I began to see Gabe more clearly as I drew nearer. I could tell he was enjoying himself.

Suddenly I was grabbed from behind and dragged into the crowd of cheering, yelling villains-in-training. I struggled to get out of the person's grasp but he or she only held me tighter. I gasped in pain as the person's arms strained against my ribs. The arms suddenly let go and I pitched forward, falling to the ground and hitting my head on the edge of one of the bleachers. For a moment everything went dark.

When I opened my eyes again, the cheering and yelling had stopped and kids were milling about, making their way to the doors. I sat up and rubbed my head gingerly, wincing at the pain and then the memory of what had just happened.

"Have I ever told you how much you're an idiot, Newton?" Josh's exasperated tone caused me to look up, frowning slightly as I observed him standing over me, his arms folded, a frown to rival mine on his face.

"No, I don't think you have," I muttered, grabbing the edge of a bench and pulling myself up. I swayed slightly as I stood, my head pounding.

"Well, you're a very big idiot. What did you think you were doing? Running toward the dome like that. You want another hour in the Penalty Room?"

It had only been an hour? It felt like days. I rubbed my forehead wearily.

"He was going to kill him," I muttered in my defense, hoping he would understand. Instead he shocked me by giving a harsh laugh.

"Of course he was. That was the plan."

I stared at him. "What?" I gasped out, my throat suddenly feeling very dry.

"The guy was a spy from the Bureau. We had to eliminate him. They chose Gabe to do it as a sort of test. He passed. He'll make almost as good a villain as his uncle, if not a better one."

I was completely aghast. "So Gabe . . . _killed_ him?"

"Yeah, that's what I just said. Newton, you okay?" He frowned at me and took a step closer. I stepped back.

"I-I'm fine," I said, scrambling to think of a good excuse to leave. "Excuse me," I said finally and hurried out of the room.

I ran first to the restroom and threw up in the toilet, safely hidden in the stall. I sank the ground and reached over wearily to flush away the junk that had been fighting its way out for a while now. I leaned my head against the stall door and closed my eyes, taking several deep breaths. As I sat there I started thinking. And as I thought I began to realize some things. As if my eyes had just been opened.

What the heck was I doing here? I could never, ever kill someone like that in cold blood. My coming here had been a really bad idea: a rash, spur-of-the-moment idea that I had gotten while I was upset. I wished I could go back in time and change everything. But obviously I couldn't do that so I decided right then and there to get out.

Pushing myself up off the floor, I stumbled out of the stall and out of the restroom. There was one person I could think of that could possibly help me. I made my way toward her room now. Knocking almost frantically on her door, my ribs ached and burned as my chest heaved with my heavy breathing.

She opened it slowly and stared at me. "Alex?" she said, frowning slightly. "Geez, you look terrible." She glanced down the hall before grabbing my arm and leading me inside. She set me down in the corner chair and then stood back, crossing her arms.

"What's wrong?" she asked, a flicker of worry crossing her features. She had not spoken to me since our confrontation in the infirmary, but all that seemed forgotten now.

"I need to get out of here," I said, trying to breathe normally. "You were right. I'm not villain-material. There's no way I can do things like that. It's-it's evil!" It was the best word I could come up with to describe Gabriel's actions in the dome.

Violet's face was impassive. "Yes," she said softly. "It is."

I looked up into her face almost pleadingly. "I'm not evil, Vi. I don't think I could ever be." I thought back to my strange dream with the memories of my first year at Sky High. Was this the answer the little girl told me I had? Kristi Drake had called me a hero. I didn't know if I was ready to be a hero, but I knew now that I could never be a villain.

Violet's expression softened and she suddenly walked over and wrapped her arms gently around me. I stiffened somewhat at the contact, but I let her hold me as I tried to gather myself. My body trembled slightly, and she stoked my head tenderly.

"I know, honey, I know," she murmured, and the endearment surprised me. However it somehow seemed like something she would say. Not the hardened Violet that came to the Academy, but the other Violet. Magenta's sister. I could just see her in my mind comforting her younger sister just like this, during a thunderstorm, or after a fight at school, or whatever Magenta's middle school fears and hardships had been.

This was the Violet I saw and knew did not belong here anymore than I did.

I pulled back and stared at her seriously. "You should go too," I told her. "Let's both get away from this place. You know as well as I do that neither of us belongs here. _Please_, Violet."

She looked back at me solemnly, pushing back my black hair and frowning slightly before moving away and standing, looking thoughtful.

"We should go for a walk," she said abruptly in her normal, brisk tone. I started in surprise.

"Huh?"

She pursed her lips and turned toward the door. "You stay right here," she told me, before slipping out of the room and shutting the door behind her.

I stared after her dubiously, before sighing and sliding off the chair in order to lie on the floor on my back, resting my ribs and trying to sort out my thoughts. I didn't know why Violet suddenly wanted to take a walk but hoped it had something to do with escaping. I closed my eyes and wished, hoped, prayed that Ana Lucia had not given up on me and still wanted me back. I could see her face in my head and smiled slightly.

However something was different. I saw her just as clearly in my mind as if I had just seen her yesterday, but what I felt when I saw her face was different than what I had always felt before. The love had . . . not lessened, but changed. It confused me, but for some reason I felt like I was not in love with her anymore.

Of course I loved her, and I could feel that. I loved her just as dearly as a brother would. But suddenly I felt no more than that. Like a brother. I frowned slightly but did not have the strength to try and figure out what had caused the change. Instead I allowed myself to begin drifting in and out of consciousness, the pain that still coursed through my body decreasing to a dull ache and before I knew it I had passed out.

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**Well I know there's underlying stuff going on. But I wonder if anyone else does. Hmmm . .  
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**Review and tell me what you think! :-D**


	18. Reminiscing and Revolution

**Chapter 17/Reminiscing and Revolution**

Violet came back awhile later and knocked me in the head lightly with her foot to wake me up. I groaned and opened my eyes, squinting up at her although my black eye only opened partially.

"Did you have to kick me?" I demanded with a frown.

She smirked. "Would you rather I kissed you awake, Sleeping Beauty?" she asked.

I flushed and sat up quickly. "Noooooo," I said, and then grimaced as pain shot through my head at my sudden movement. Violet held her hand out to me to help me up. I grabbed it and she hauled me to my feet.

"Come on," she said, keeping a grip on my hand. She pushed up my sleeve and, not blinking an eye at my scars, strapped something around my thin wrist.

"What's this?" I asked, looking down at it. "And where are we going?"

"I told you," Violet said, giving my hand a light squeeze. "We're going for a walk. Now turn yourself invisible like a good boy and stop asking useless questions."

"How can I turn invisible," I asked, more than a little confused now. "The power neutralizers in the wall . . . ?" I gestured to the ceiling vaguely.

"The cuff I just gave you reinstates your powers," Violet said, and then nudged me urgently. "Now quick turn invisible and let's go before they realize I stole it."

Without any hesitation now, I turned myself invisible. I was surprised but before I could have time to think about what was really going on, Violet felt around for me, grabbed my sleeve when she found it, and dragged me out of the room.

"Now," she said, barely moving her lips as she hurried along the hallway. "It's going to look pretty silly with me grabbing thin air like this, so I'm going to let you go. However you have to promise to stick close to me, otherwise we'll both get caught and put in the Penalty Room. Got it?"

I nodded wordlessly, not realizing until afterward that she would not be able to see me. I dared not speak however, afraid she would be put in that hell-hole. I would not wish that punishment on anyone. Imagining Violet standing against that mammoth of a fighter in that last scenario gave me shivers. Although she was wiry and tough, she was my friend and I still feared for her.

"I have clearance for upper level access," Violet said, flashing some sort of ID tag at what seemed like a black ball on the wall beside two gates. Something clicked several times before the gates began to open. I pressed close to her side as she walked through so that the gates would close behind both of us, instead of just behind her and keep me inside.

It was only when we were in an elevator rising to the surface that she spoke again. "We still won't be able to leave the city," she told me in hushed tones. "The cuff doesn't neutralize the bolt inside of you that'll kill you if you step over the border." She suddenly smiled, white teeth flashing against cream-colored skin.

"But don't worry," she said, feeling for me with her hand. I caught it up in my own and her smile widened as she squeezed it. "I know a nice park within the borders where we can take a long, nice walk without being disturbed."

I gave her a slight smile of my own, even though I knew she could not see it. As the elevator rose upward, she turned away to watch the changing numbers and, since I was invisible, I took the opportunity to really study her.

She looked a lot like her sister, except older (which made sense since she was eighteen while Magenta was fifteen . . . my age). Black hair, almond-shaped eyes, coffee-and-cream colored skin, delicate facial features, short stature . . . it was all just like an older version of Magenta. But while Magenta's expressions were usually ones of sarcasm and exasperation at people's stupidity, Violet's were usually harsh and cold, like she was masking something.

I stretched out with my Empathy powers, searching to feel her emotions. I came across anger and hate and bitterness (that was to be expected), along with apprehension and fear, pain and loneliness. Those were all the surface emotions, I concentrated and searched deeper. There was homesickness and vulnerability (which surprised me a little). What surprised me a lot was, when I dug even deeper, I came across shame, remorse, self-hate, and . . . yearning. Yearning? Yearning for what?

However when I tried to crack open that little eggshell, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my head and chest. I opened my eyes to see that I had been concentrating so hard on figuring Violet out, that I had let myself become visible and now Violet had me pinned against the wall of the elevator. It had stopped moving now and was waiting for us to leave. Unfortunately Violet still had me in her death grip.

"Don't . . . do that . . . again," she said, breathing deeply and emphasizing each word through gritted teeth.

I blinked and stared at her a moment before retreating my gaze to the floor the elevator. "Sorry," I mumbled, wondering vaguely what it was she did not want me to find out about her. She slowly released me and stepped back.

"Let's go," she said quietly, nodding to the door. It had opened during our tense moment and now I stepped out of it slowly, Violet right beside me. I wondered how no one had noticed an elevator popping up in the middle of nowhere, until I realized that the elevator was actually hidden inside a tree. The doors opened but a holographic project screen kept the side of the tree we stepped out of looking completely solid.

She cocked her head to the side in a silent gesture to tell me to follow her. I did so meekly. After several long moments of silence she reached over and squeezed my hand gently. I started in surprise but did not pull away, instead I watched her warily.

"I'm sorry Alex," she said. "I should not have reacted so strongly. But you know it's very rude to use your kinds of powers on people without asking their permission first." She gave me a pointed look.

"How did you even know I was using my powers?" I asked, frowning slightly in confusion.

Violet hesitated but kept walking so briskly I found it a bit difficult to keep up with her. Luckily I was more than a couple inches taller than her so that gave me an advantage.

"Well, for one thing you turned visible after a while and you were staring at me rather strangely." She glanced at me with a look. "But that wasn't when I first realized you were doing it." She stared straight ahead again and fell so silent I was afraid she was not going to explain.

"I could . . . feel your presence," she said softly in a voice barely over a whisper. I narrowed my eyes at her but she did not meet my gaze. "Your . . . touch if you will, reaching out for my emotions. I could sense it." She shrugged. "I don't know how to explain it."

I began to feel slightly uncomfortable. However before that feeling could escalate to something I would run from, Violet suddenly stopped and pointed ahead to a grove of trees.

"That's a good place," she said, moving towards it resolutely. I followed warily, wondering where in the world she was taking me and why we were on this jaunt in the first place. She did not speak again as we walk so I did not try to bring up any type of conversation. I could hear the sound of civilization not far away and it suddenly hit me that I was above ground. I was in the open, fresh air for the first time in a little over a month.

Stopping abruptly in the middle of the park's path, I closed my eyes and tilted my head back, lifting my hands slightly to the sides as I soaked in the sun's warmth. My pale white skin complained somewhat, but I did not care. Taking several deep breaths of the fresh air, it took a moment before I realized someone was staring at me. I lowered my head and opened my eyes to meet the gaze of Violet. She smiled slightly.

"I know. You take it for granted, don't you?" she asked; her eyes seemed somewhat sad.

I tilted my head to the side, my black hair swinging over to cover one of my eyes. "I guess so," I said, knowing she was right. When you spend your life under the sun you expect its warmth and light to always be there. When that normality is taken away and you're shut away underground for long periods of time, you begin to forget how wonderful the sun really is. I didn't usually think much on bright things, but the sun was a necessity so I welcomed it joyfully.

"Come on," Violet said, gesturing for me to follow her. I did so, noticing that we were delving deep into the trees, farther and farther away from people. It was only when we reached a small clearing in the park that she stopped, sitting down and grabbing my hand to pull me down to sit cross-legged next to her.

"So," she said. "I bet you're wondering why I brought you all the way out here."

I could not deny it. I nodded. She sighed. "I'm here to talk about me. Why I came to the Academy."

I raised an eyebrow but remained silent, pushing my hair behind my ear and leaning back, resting my hands behind me as I watched her expectantly.

Violet took a deep breath and let it out slowly, sitting up straight as a board, staring out straight ahead of her, so that only her profile was facing me.

"I grew up in a nice enough family. We didn't always get along, but we were a family. I was well liked in Middle School and I knew that when I went to Sky High I would be liked there too. I took it for granted. I was preppy, beautiful, and had a great personality. I always got good grades and teachers adored me." She chuckled softly. "I drove Magenta crazy for a while." She glanced at me then away when I made no sound or movement.

"Then I fell into the wrong crowd. They took advantage of my friendliness. They introduced me to wild kids and taught me how to have a blast at crazy parties. I became a rebel; a wild child. Of course my parents would have thrown a fit and grounded me for life, so I kept my night-life a secret, being the same happy-go-lucky chic girl they always knew." She took a deep breath then let it go shakily.

"One night I was out joy-riding with a friend of mine. We were both drunk. I crossed those solid yellow lines and crashed head-on with another car. The woman driving was killed instantly. Her daughter was in the back. She suffered a blow to the head that sent her into a coma that she still hasn't come out of." She clenched her jaw tightly and I could see tears gathering in her eyes. I adjusted my position so that I was leaning forward with my elbows on my knees.

Hesitantly I reached forward for her hand but she pulled away, holding up a finger, telling me to wait.

"There's more. I tried to talk to my parents about it. But they were having a hard time in their marriage and could not come to terms that their perfect daughter had done such a terrible thing. They invented a cover story, said I wasn't the one driving. My friend had been the one to kill that woman and send her daughter to the hospital, probably never to recover.

"I couldn't speak to them. They completely lost it, telling me if I didn't shape up I would need to be sent away until I was fit to return. That crushed me. I did not need judgment, I needed a listening ear. I ran back to those 'friends' of mine. They were the ones that brought me to the Academy. I figured: my parents were already disappointed with me, might as well show everyone else who I really was. A wild-child. A drunk. A murderer."

I blinked, frowning slightly. I understood her logic . . . somewhat. But a lot of things still did not make sense.

"But you see what's going on there," I spoke up finally. "You can't tell me that's right."

"It's _not_ right, Alex," she said in a soft voice. She finally looked over at me, holding my gaze. "But what else is there for me? My flawless reputation ended with that accident. All the staff there knows how much of disappointment Violet Walker turned out to be. I can't go there. I can't go home. I can't live a normal life. I belong at the Academy. At least there I can _do_ something with myself."

I bowed my head, staring at the grass. I didn't know what I could say to convince her of the good that I saw in her. Sure she was broken and dead inside, but so was I . . . and I still knew this, everything about the Academy, was all wrong.

'_It's because of David and Ana Lucia_,'I realized. They had helped shape me and the person I was becoming. Violet had too and in a way that _showed_ me she was not the horrible person she thought she was. I wondered what strange twist of fate had led us to come to same place and put us in the same circle where we interacted almost on a daily basis.

A hand, dark against my pasty skin, came over and placed itself underneath my chin, lifting my head up to look into questioning brown eyes.

"Do you see now?" she asked softly. "Do you see why I have stayed?"

I gritted my teeth. "Yes," I growled softly, then grabbed her wrist, pulling it away from my face and moving closer so that I was sitting directly in front of her, frowning deeply as I leaned forward to look intently into her gaze. "But I don't believe a word of it," I spat.

She started in surprise at my vehement tone. "But Alex, I just told you—"

I cut her off. "I don't give a dang rat's arse," I said, growing angry. "Shut up and listen to me." I reached over and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her and scaring myself with this sudden roughness almost as much I was scaring her. "Shut _up_ and _listen_ to me."

Her eyes were wide and her mouth shut abruptly. It was strange, but it was almost as if I could hear David in my head, telling me what to say. The words did sound a lot like him as they marched their way out of my mouth.

"Where do you think I'd be without you?" I demanded, my nostrils flaring. "I would be just like all those other guys down there in Megan's clutches. I would be one of her flunkeys or whatever." I let go of her shoulders and pushed up my sleeves roughly, showing her the scars on my arms. "And look. Look! I would still be cutting if it weren't for you and your support. You were always there for me, helping me, showing me how _not_ to become one of _them_, even if you didn't know it. You're _not_ a villain, Vi. Completely the opposite! You're a hero. You're _my_ hero. And that should be enough by itself."

My heart was beating rapidly. It was the most I had ever spoken. By Violet's shocked expression, I knew she had never heard anything of the like from me either. Slowly she lifted a hand and pushed back the hair that had fallen into my face during my heated speech. She looked into my eyes and I frowned into hers, willing her, _needing_ her to understand me.

Hesitantly, her hand left my head and trailed its fingers slowly down my pale, thin cheek. They lingered at my mouth before dropping away.

"Wow," she said, and her voice was hoarse. "Alex, I—I don't know what to say really."

"Say you'll escape with me," I said urgently, leaning forward so that our foreheads were touching. I shut my eyes tightly. "_Please_," I murmured. "I can't leave you in that awful place. We both know you can do better than that."

It was strange, hearing David's words coming out of my mouth. They weren't his words exactly. I couldn't remember him saying any of them to me. But it still felt like him talking. It was as if he was speaking to me too. I was changing inside, I could feel it. For the first time in a long time I felt something. Something that very closely resembled . . . hope.

"Alex, they won't accept me back," Violet whispered, her warm breath mingling with mine. I could feel her trembling underneath my forehead and wondered why. I did not sense enough fear to cause her to shake.

"Then prove to them that you're no longer the kind of girl they think you are," I said, pulling back so that I could look at her again.

I could see the wheels turning in her brain as she suddenly looked incredibly thoughtful. After a few silent moments of this, she suddenly brightened slightly. I sat up straighter.

"What?" I asked eagerly.

"A coup."

The word's meaning escaped me. I blinked. "Huh?"

"The Academy has been planning to stage a coup on Sky High. They're in the final preparations. The takeover should take place in the near future. If we can get enough students to follow our lead, we could go into battle, and then switch the odds of the fight toward Sky High's side. The Academy won't see it coming and maybe that could be the advantage Sky High needs to take them down." Violet's eyes were glowing now that she had a hope to grasp on to as well. I could feel my heartbeat start to race again as her idea drew me in.

"Do you think that could work?" I asked, crossing my fingers. "I mean, is there that many students in the Academy that would turn?"

Violet looked thoughtful. "Well I know of a few that have been simply bullied into the Academy. I can think of two right now who would be happy to join us."

I thought for a moment. "Karl and Diane," I surmised. Violet smirked.

"Exactly." She was positively radiant now as hope for a better future for all of Maxville settled down on us. She now had a plan, she had motivation, and she had a way to be free of the chains the Academy had placed her in. And I had never seen her look more beautiful than she did in that moment. Her eyes flashed, her cheeks were flushed, and her lips were curled in a smug smile that caused me to grin back.

"This could work," I said in slight awe.

"We'll make it work," she said with determination. She stood in one fluid movement and held a hand out to me. I grabbed it and pulled myself to my feet.

"Shouldn't we warn Sky High?" I asked suddenly, as the thought occurred to me that a lot of students could get hurt, possibly die, in this 'coup' of the Academy's.

Violet pursed her lips. "We can't risk it," she said apologetically. "If word leaked out and got back to the Academy somehow, the Elridges won't do it. Instead they would either retreat back into hiding until a more opportune moment."

"But my friends go there!" I said, growing rather indignant. A flicker of pain passed over Violet's face.

"And so does my sister," she reminded me. I winced slightly. Looking over my battered features, Violet slowly smiled.

"Don't worry," she said. "We'll make sure our plan is foolproof. We'll get this done right." She glanced up at the sky. "Now let's return to the Academy before they send out a search party." She surprised me by reaching over and taking my hand as we walked back toward the path that led in and out of the park. I did not protest at all and simply let her hold it. Her slender hand felt warm in my own and I could feel her calluses.

When we reached the edge of the park, she stopped and tugged on my hand to stop me as well. I paused and turned to her, puzzled. I looked at her questioningly. Slowly moving forward, she slipped her arms underneath mine and hugged me gently, being careful of my ribs, resting her chin on my shoulder. I hesitated briefly before hugging her back.

"Thank you," she whispered softly across my ear before pulling away. "I think you just saved my life." She smirked slightly and reached up to push my hair back once more.

"My hero," she murmured with the smallest of winks. Then she took my hand again and together we walked back toward the tree which held the elevator. I held her hand firmly in mine as her words played over and over in my head like a mantra.

_My hero. My hero. My hero._

She was the second one to call me that. Could it be possible that I could end up as one after all? Suddenly David's strong, kind face arose in my memory. He smiled down at me and inclined his head slightly, as if giving his approval. Then the image faded and we were at the elevator once more.

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**This ended up waaaaaay longer than I thought it would. Heehee. Please review and tell me what you think! :-D**

**Oh, and I just wanted to give a shout-out to all my wonderful reviewers. Ya'll really keep me going and I know for a fact that my stories would not be as successful if it weren't for ya'll. So thanks a whole bunch! :-D Btw, the idea of getting fellow Academy students a chance to fight against the Academy was borrowed somewhat from Jeune Chat's story _War and Peace in Mind_. However I _had_ thought of it before I read her story. :-P**


	19. Interlude: Penny Hayes

**A/N: Warning! This chapter is a bit heavy on the . . . "sexy" side, I guess you could say. Very PG-13. Don't look at me, Penny is well . . . Penny. However really it's mostly implied and vaguely describled so um, yeah. . . .  
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**('Wicktory (you know who you are), sorry but you can't read this chapter. Ask Xandry or me to give you a vague summary.)**

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**Chapter 18/Interlude: Penny Hayes**

Looking at myself in the floor length mirror that stood beside my closet in my bedroom, I ran my hands over my flat stomach and down to my hips, turning this way and that as I studied my body. On good thing about prison, I suppose, was the weight loss. I was thinner than I had ever been in my life, so much so that I had to buy new clothes to fit my new figure. I frowned slightly as I placed my hands on my hips. My curves had diminished. How disappointing.

However thankfully I was still as gorgeous as ever. Plenty of makeup had covered up the circles under my eyes and a good long shower had softened my hair. I noticed I still needed a little mascara and so I grabbed some from my dresser and leaned into the mirror, applying it carefully. When I was done I stepped back again. It felt strange to wear something other than the Sky High cheerleader uniform. I rarely had worn anything else during the school days. The outfit I was wearing now though looked very similar. I think in my wistful reminiscing of the old days, I had picked it out on purpose that way.

Low-necked with slight mid-drift bearing, the shirt was long sleeved and bright orange. The low-rise mini-skirt was deep blue. The Sky High school colors. Sure I had hated the saps that went to that school, but I had loved being a cheerleader. It was an ugly shock to go from extremely popular to suddenly invisible when I was sent to that awful prison. I shuddered slightly and quickly put it out of my head.

The only thing that marred my beautiful outfit was the thin white cuff that was attached around my ankle: A power-draining cuff. They did not trust me enough to let me walk around town without it. That was why there was just me tonight, and no more. It was horribly lonely not to have my constant companions by my side. I had almost gone crazy in jail without them. Oh, but there I went again, thinking about that terrible place. I turned my thoughts to what was going on tonight as I got out some dark blue nail polish (to match the skirt).

The date with Lash. _My_ date with Lash. No one ever knew this, but I had always had a slight crush on him. Sure he wasn't hot like the guys I used to flirt with, but he was awfully cute and good-looking. And he had always been deeper than Speed. I could tell sometimes when I studied him when he wasn't looking. He would get these thoughtful looks on his face that sent shivers down my spine.

Of course we flirted back and forth sometimes, never serious because Royal Pain wanted to make sure we formed no attachments. I had flirted with Speed too. I flirted with every guy at that stinking school. But never, not once, did I ever know what it was like to have someone who actually _cared_. I saw that Lash _could_ care if he _wanted_ to. He just didn't want to. That posed a challenge, and I liked challenges.

So when he came to visit me in prison, I knew I would not be allowed to live if I gave out any crucial information. Royal Pain's little henchmen would make sure I never spoke again. I did not know why they had not done away with Lash yet, but supposed they did not see him as a threat. However they knew that I knew more than the two boys did put together. Girls like to stick together and Royal Pain had told me much more than was safe for me to know.

For some reason though, I figured: why not help out? I was just going to be stuck in prison the rest of my life anyway if I _didn't_ help. And they had witness protection programs. I could demand for that. But still, that did not change the fact that I was in danger.

Now normally I would not even think about putting myself out on a limb for _anyone_. But I thought to myself: this is my chance! If I could just get Lash to actually _care_ about me, everything would be alright. He would protect me. He would make sure I was safe.

"Penny!" my mom's voice broke through my ponderings and caused me to almost trip over my shoes as I turned to the door quickly. "That young man is here!"

She could never remember Lash's name. Not his nickname or his real name, although his real name is pretty forgettable. Who in their right mind named their son 'Stanley'? Unbelievable. Primping one last time in front of the mirror, I grabbed my purse and made my way downstairs. My lone footsteps on the steps caused my heart to ache once more in loneliness. I didn't know how much longer I could take being out of jail without my clones.

I opened the door and prepared a bright smile for Lash, which quickly turned to a frown of disappointment as he looked at me with extreme annoyance and dislike. He only glanced over my carefully planned outfit once before turning away and walking down the driveway without a word. I frowned darkly, shifting my purse higher on my shoulder and closing the door behind me as I stalked after him. Obviously this was not going to go very well.

His car was nothing flashy. I was slightly surprised. Lash always cared about looking good before the whole Royal Pain mess. I supposed he had mellowed out since then. He got into the driver's side of the car without holding the passenger's side door open for me. I huffed in annoyance at the lack of chivalry although I was hardly surprised. I let myself into the car and buckled my seat belt.

"So," I said as he backed out of the driveway and into the street, trying to keep my voice light and somewhat condescending like my normal tone. "Where are you taking me?"

His hands tightening on the steering wheel, turning the knuckles white, and his jaw clenching tightly was the only response I got. Holding back a sigh, I tried to get some sort of response out of him, just so he would acknowledge my existence. Crossing my dark, slender legs slowly, I smoothed my short skirt on them and then twisted slightly to give Lash a small grin.

"If you're trying to make this easier on you," I said slowly, planning my words carefully. "Don't. This angry angst act of yours is sooooo sexy."

A muscle in his jaw twitched, but he still refused to look over at me. Instead he made a quick turn that tossed me against the side of the door. My elbow hit the hard plastic harshly and I growled in annoyance, shooting a glare his way. I was even more annoyed to see the smug smirk that graced his way-too-hot lips.

"Geez, you don't need to get so offended," I said, flipping my hair over my shoulder with an air of indignation. "It was a _compliment._" I snickered, wondering if _that_ would get a reaction. . . . It didn't.

Giving in to my sigh, I leaned back in my seat and massaged my sore elbow. I hoped he did not do that again. Didn't he know I was delicate? Well, maybe not _that_ delicate, but it was nice to think so sometimes. After a few more miles he pulled into the parking lot for a restaurant I had never seen before. It was simply called "Nicky's" and looked nice enough. Not as fancy as The Paper Lantern, but not a dump either. Without a word Lash parked and got out of the car, slamming the door abruptly. Trying my best not to be offended by any of his actions, I opened my own door and slid out, shutting the door softly behind me. I walked up to the door where Lash was and we went inside.

Apparently my outfit seemed to work on every male in the building _except_ Lash. Eyes followed me as we followed our host to a free table and several cat-calls were heard. I smirked and glanced at Lash to see how he would react. No response was forthcoming. Inwardly sighting in disappointment, I sat down abruptly and he sat down across from me.

He was so different it was aggravating! Before the Royal Pain-in-the-butt incident, he would have been scoping me just like all the other guys in the room. He would have laughed at my snarky comment and flirted back. He would have taken notice of me. But now instead he just sat there, glowering at the menu as if it had personally ruined his life. I inspected by bright blue nails while I waited for a waitress to come. The silence was very heavy between us and I didn't have the courage now to try and break it.

Luckily the waitress came quickly. I just ordered a salad and some water, and all Lash ordered was a burger. I twiddled my thumbs absently as he lightly drummed on the table with his knuckles, not having anything to glare at now that the waitress had taken the menus away. I cleared my throat hesitantly to speak, but he suddenly glowered at me with a look so fierce it made me shrink back in my seat.

The minutes passed by slowly. It was agonizing. Every time I ventured to say something, he would growl softly and I would stop. It was obvious that he was determined to have the worst date in the history of mankind. I ended up pouting through most of it. Several guys came over to our table to introduce themselves to me near the end, and when they did I smiled pleasantly and flirted back and forth for a while before their own dates got jealous and dragged them back after a while.

Throughout all this, Lash continually checked his watch and ran his fingers agitatedly through his hair. When our food came he ate quickly and quietly. I ate between visitors. Therefore there was not a lot of time for me to think of something to say to him. When we were both done eating, he got up abruptly, grabbing the check, leaving the tip, and going over to pay for the meal. I got up slowly, straightening my skirt out and getting a few whistles from behind me. I ignored them.

Lash came back and we both walked outside. Before we got to his car however, I decided I was fed up with this silent treatment and wanted some attention from him. However it turned out I didn't have to, for as soon as we arrived at the car, he stopped and turned toward me, leaning against the vehicle and folding his arms.

"So, I took you on a date," he said, speaking for the first time that night. His face was dark with a frown. "Now tell me what I need to know."

I huffed in annoyance. "You call that a date?" I demanded to know, placing one hand on my hip and shifting my weight to the foot connect to that hip in a perfect picture of cheerleader skepticism. My eyebrows raised high for effect. "I might as well have been dating a lump of wood!"

His scowl did not let up. "That's as good a date as you're going to get," he growled. "Now tell me what you know."

I pursed my glossy lips, knowing I was more valuable now to him than I would ever be. I needed to use that to my advantage before he took what he wanted and left me to be killed by Royal Pain's cronies. Taking a deep breath mentally, I simply tossed my head and smirked slightly.

"Nope. First you have to kiss me."

His scowl gave way to an expression of shock and confusion. "_What_?" he choked, his arms dropping to his sides as he slumped against his car. I smiled coyly and stepped closer.

"You heard me. That was a terrible date so the only way you can get your information is if you kiss me."

Lash blinked at me blankly and I had to hold back another sigh. He obviously knew nothing about girls and the way they thought. Had he _never_ guessed that I had a crush on him? Had I been too subtle? Or had he been too oblivious? I decided he must have been too oblivious. He was now watching me nervously, as if trying to understand.

"Look, if you don't want the information . . ." I said with a shrug, readying to go back to my safe (comparatively) jail cell if he was not going to cooperate. I turned to go around to the other side of the car.

Suddenly his hand grabbed my elbow, and he turned me to him. Wrapping his other arm around my waist, he pulled me up to him, pressing my body against his as his lips came crashing down on mine. I responded almost instinctively, wrapping my free arm around his neck and running my fingers through his hair vigorously.

Unfortunately the force at which he pulled me too him knocked us off balance and we slammed into his car rather painfully. My knee cracked against the edge of the fender and I could feel it break the skin. However it proved to be worth it for now we were lying across the hood of his car, making out as if we were the only ones in the universe. I had made out with guys before, but this, this was heaven to me.

I was suddenly glad I didn't have my powers at the moment. There was no way I was going to share this experience with any one of my clones. His hands moved over my back, my hips, and my bare stomach, sending shivers up my spine as I massaged his scalp and gripped his shirt tightly, holding him to me. To say I was surprised at his sudden passion and fervor would be an understatement. I honestly did not believe he would react like this.

In our enthusiasm we eventually rolled off the hood of the car and onto the ground. Thankfully I landed on top of him and therefore did not hurt myself any further. We only broke contact to take a breath before we plunged into each other's mouths once more. I seriously wondered if we were going to do it right there in the middle of the parking lot, but suddenly we heard a loud clearing of someone's throat and broke apart abruptly.

The manager of the restaurant was looking down at us with a disgusted and angry expression on his face. He pointed to the car.

"Get up and get out of here," he ordered. "You're disturbing my costumers."

I stood slowly, pulling down my skirt to his normal position and straightening my top. I walked nonchalantly over to the car and stood by the door, waiting for Lash to unlock it. He got up quickly, pulling down his shirt, his face a deep scarlet. Muttering an apology to the manager, he walked stiffly back to the car and unlocked it, getting inside quickly. I did so as well and we drove back the way we had come.

A tense and uncomfortable silence fell over the car. For some reason I suddenly felt dirty. What I did was awfully underhanded and while usually I don't mind, this time something about it bugged me. I smoothed down my skirt over my legs and noticed that my knee was bleeding. I sighed.

At my small sound, Lash jerked almost convulsively. The car swerved slightly but he was quick to bring it under control. I noticed then that his face was pale and that he looked rather sick. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead and his breathing was ragged. I smoothed down my rumpled hair and tried not to feel guilty.

When we reached my house I got out slowly. Lash stayed in the car. When I noticed this I sighed and got back in. Opening the glove compartment, I pulled out a map of Maxville. Looking over it intently, I eventually found what I was looking for.

"There," I said softly. "That's where the Academy is. It's underground and heavily surveillanced, so I don't know how you'll get in, but that's where it is." I pulled out a pen from the compartment and circled the spot. Lash glanced down at it.

"There's nothing there," he said in a strained voice. He cleared his throat roughly.

"You're smart, you'll find it," I said flippantly, shoving the map back into the compartment and shut it abruptly. Picking up my purse from where I had put it under the seat, I got out of the car again and shut the door. Turning, I walked back up toward my house.

"Hey Penny?" I heard Lash's voice call me. I turned slowly, apprehensively.

"Yes?"

"If you ever try that again, I'll personally report you to Royal Pain's guards." The ice in Lash's voice sent shivers down my spine, and this time they were not at all pleasant.

Jerking my head in a stiff nod, I stalked up my front steps and into my house, slamming the door behind me. It was only then that I let myself break down. Running to my room, I threw myself on my bed and sobbed, ignoring the now throbbing pain of my skinned knee. By being the slut people expected me to be, I had lost the one thing I had ever wanted. Lash. There was no way he could ever like me now.

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**Lash's POV**

I breathed much easier when she was out of my car and out of sight. As I drove home the sick feeling in my stomach worsened however. My hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly I felt the leather creak underneath my sweaty hands. How could I have been so _stupid_? I ground my teeth together and pushed sixty on the neighborhood street, half wishing a cop would pull me over so I could get punished for my disgusting act.

I did not know what had come over me. Obviously some part of me was attracted to Penny in that way, otherwise it would have never happened. I ran my hand through my hair agitatedly, still tasting her vividly. Grimacing in disgust at myself, I abruptly pulled into a driveway only to find that it was not my own but Ana Lucia's. I groaned and dropped my head down onto the steering wheel. My mind must have automatically gone here for I often went to her house when I was feeling troubled.

Turning off the engine, I climbed out of the car and walked up to the door, feeling miserable, dirty, and sick all at the same time. The door opened slowly and I felt even worse when I looked down at Ana Lucia's sweet face. She had her glasses on which told me she had not been expecting me. Right now though a dorky Ana Lucia was a thousand times better than no Ana Lucia at all . . . or worse, Penny. A shudder of self-loathing ran through my body.

"Lash?" Ana said hesitantly. "What's wrong?"

I stumbled in without answering her for a minute and hurried to the kitchen to get some Coke, wanting to wash all taste of Penny out of my mouth. When I finally could not feel it anymore, I turned to Ana Lucia who was watching me worriedly. Without waiting for her to ask again, I walked over and gathered her up in my arms, burying my face in her shoulder.

"Lash, what's wrong?" she asked again, her accent thick with concern. "You're scaring me."

I groaned. "Oh Ana, just smack me or punch me or kick me or _something_!" I begged, holding her tighter so I would not have to look in her face. However she pushed me away anyway since I could feel my will crumbling just standing there.

"Now why would I do any of those things to you?" she asked, her voice light but her dark eyes serious.

"Icheatedonyou," I mumbled incoherently. She frowned in confusion.

"What was that?" she asked.

I heaved a great sigh. "I cheated on you," I said slowly, miserably. "With Penny."

Ana Lucia blinked at me for a moment, before realization dawned on her. She took a small step backwards.

"Oh," she said simply and then just stood there, watching me.

Her silence just about did me in right there. I found myself babbling. "I don't know what happened. I was making sure I didn't do anything that would lead to that. I didn't speak to her. I hardly looked at her and never said or did anything to make her think I was remotely interested in her. But then she said that since it was a crappy date I would have to kiss her to get the information. I wasn't going to do it, but then I thought of Alex and I knew I couldn't just give up so I kissed her. But I . . ."

I trailed off, unable to finish. Ana Lucia betrayed no emotion. Dang, she was good.

"Went too far?" she concluded for me, her voice impassive.

I swallowed hard. "Yeah," I said lamely.

Ana Lucia crossed her arms. "Do you like her?" she asked.

I shook my head instantly. "No. It was purely a male instinct thing I _swear_. She was really . . . seductive the whole time. My will just . . . collapsed." I grimaced. "Forgive me? Please?"

I looked at her pleadingly, unable to think of what I would do if she dumped me right then and there. A sick part of me realized that I might go crawling back to Penny and I knew there was no way I could let that happen.

Ana Lucia gave a small sigh and uncrossed her arms, relaxing visibly. I held by breath as I watched her tentatively.

"Of course I forgive you, Lash," she said, and held out her hand to me. I took it and then crushed her to me in a hug.

"Thank you," I murmured into her hair, feeling as though a gigantic weight had been lifted off my shoulders. She gripped the back of my shirt tightly and I could feel her when she sighed slightly again.

"Did she tell you where to find Alex?" she asked, her voice muffled by my shirt.

"Yeah," I muttered, breathing in her scent with relish.

"Mmm, good." She snuggled deeper into my arms and I was again relieved. However I knew that despite all this, I could never go near Penny again. Never.

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**So um, yeeeeeeeah. That's how it turned out. Review and tell me what you think. ducks flying tomatoes  
**


	20. Deadlock

**Gah, this chapter took waaaaaay too long to write. Sorry about the content of the last chapter. It just refused to be written any other way. You should be glad however, that Lash refused to let me write his POV. All you'd get most likely is a long sentance full of profanities. ;-)**

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**Chapter 19/Deadlock**

The next week started the recruitment plan. We had decided to each take one of the two we knew would help us. Violet took Diane and I chose Karl. The pairing was rather obvious. I found Karl in our room and checked every nook and cranny for Gabe before approaching him. He had been watching me warily but I wanted to be thorough. That kid was unnatural the way he could contort and twist his body. It was rather disturbing to watch as well.

He twitched when I walked over and knelt beside his bunk. The twitching bothered me now more than ever as I realized that he must have gone through the Penalty Room numerous times to be so jumpy. Karl was neither the fastest nor the brightest kid in the Academy, and he was dully punished for his ineptitude. Anger burned through my blood at this unfair treatment and it made me all the more eager to get out of the place.

"Hey" was all I said at first. He regarded me solemnly, his fingers twitching on the bed sheets. I opened my mouth to speak again, but then stopped, suddenly thinking that the room could be bugged. Violet's room hadn't been, but then they weren't watching her like they were apparently watching me. I could not be certain so instead of talking to Karl right then and there, I instead stood and beckoned him toward the bathroom. He looked puzzled but followed me, twitching rather violently as he did (I knew now that the convulsing grew worse when he was nervous).

Once inside the bathroom, I closed the door behind us and, ignoring Karl's curious gaze, turned on the shower nice and loud.

"I didn't want anyone to hear," I explained finally. Karl nodded slightly, but still looked confused. (Then again, that might have been a twitch.)

He simply stared at me, waiting for me to continue. I fidgeted uneasily, not used to being the one stared at. Huffing in annoyance at this change, I continued with my reason for pulling him in here.

"Violet told me about the attack on Sky High," I said slowly, watching for any reaction. I got none. Growling softly under my breath, I kept going. I rarely spoke this much, but Karl wasn't giving me anything.

"I don't want to be a villain," I said simply, "and I don't think you do either. We're looking for recruits to turn against the Academy when the time is right. She's talking to Diane right now. I wanted to know if you wanted to join us."

Karl blinked slowly, his cowlick twitching as his fingers drummed restlessly on the sink. I leaned against the door, folding my arms and waiting. He avoided my gaze, his blue eyes dancing everywhere. Thankfully my hard life had taught me patience. I waited, my black-lined eyes fixed on his face as he tried desperately to find a way out of replying. I could see him weakening though and finally he dropped his head, staring at the ground, his fingers still making their random, nervous pattern.

"I never wanted to be a villain," Karl said softly. "But if we turn against the Academy . . . they will _kill_ us." He looked up at me with frightened eyes. I frowned.

"No they won't," I said firmly. "I have friends at Sky High. Powerful friends. They'll help us. Besides, me and Violet won't let anything happen to you. I promise." But inside I was beginning to feel wary. The truth was that I had no idea what happened to traitors. There could very well be a method to kill us. Then I remembered the restraining bolts. My hand went unconsciously to the spot on my waist where the scar lay just underneath my black shirt.

Karl noticed the movement. He smiled grimly. "You've got it. That's what happened to the last person who tried to escape. They pushed this little red button and up he went in a pillar of fire."

I grimaced at his rather blunt way of putting it. My hand clutched at my shirt for a moment before I let it drop to my side.

"We'll have to do it quickly then, so they won't suspect it. You know about the coup on Sky High, right?"

Karl twitched his head downwards. I took that as a yes. "We'll do it then. In the middle of the fighting so they'll be no time to go find a stupid button."

"Radio contact," Karl pointed out. I gritted my teeth. Did he _have_ to make this so difficult?

"We'll find someone to take them out!" I finally said, throwing my hands up for a moment before stuffing them in my pockets. "Please Karl, at least _think_ about it."

I watched him carefully as he twitched and convulsed nervously for awhile. Finally his head twitched again in a nod. I breathed out slowly and nodded as well.

"I guess that's all I can for," I muttered, pretty sure now that I was a failure at inspirational speeches. Turning the shower off, I turned and opened the door to exit the bathroom. Stepping out I ran into Gabe who had just come in the door. He stepped back, a look of started bewilderment on his pieced face as he glanced between me and Karl and back again.

"You two taking a _shower_ together?" he asked, his face screwed up in a way that made it seem like he wasn't sure if he should be amused or disgusted.

Blood rushed to my face and my voice rose up into a squeak as I gave a forceful "NO!" Gabe looked more amused now.

Karl pushed me further out of the bathroom. "Please Gabe, does he _look_ wet to you?" he asked in such a scornful tone that I looked over at him, surprised by this sudden show of courage. Gabe looked even more baffled then me. "He was just leaving." Giving me a pointed look, he slammed the door shut, with him on the other side.

Gabe gave me a funny look. "What was _that_ all about?" he asked and all I could give him was a vague shrug. It was getting late now so I decided to just go to bed. Walking over to the dresser I opened a drawer and drew out the sweatpants and t-shirt I wore when I slept. Gabe sat down on one of the bunks and watched me as I undressed. Modesty was not something we worried about much in the Academy. Anyone could deck someone else if they tried anything funny.

Still it was uncomfortable having his gaze on me the entire time. I knew I was giving him a chilly shoulder, and I could tell he knew I was too. And he was confused about it. But I really did not know what to tell him. "Sorry Gabe, I know we were mates but now you're a murderer so bye-bye"? That was lame. Besides, wasn't I a murderer now too? However I could not shake the dirty feeling I felt whenever I was around him now. He had killed someone in cold blood and even at a distance I could tell he enjoyed it.

Tugging the shirt down, I tossed my former clothes into a pile in the corner where we kept the laundry. Turning, I accidentally locked gazes with Gabe. For a moment I was tempted to tell about Violet's plan and offer him a place in our little "resistance group." But then I realized that after his little display in the Training Dome, I couldn't trust him. It hurt to push him away like this, but I knew I had to. The kid he killed had been sent by the Bureau. For all I knew they were watching me too.

Shifting my gaze away, I walked over to the bunk I shared with Gabe, taking my place in the lower bed. I stared up at the dark drawings I had made on the wooden planks above me, trying to ignore the enormous white elephant in the room that was breathing heavily down my neck. Turning my back to him, I faced the wall, closing my darkly lined eyes and doing my best to relax.

That proved impossible however when I heard the other bed squeak, indicating that Gabe and risen from his position across the room. Moving with cat-like tread, he was at my side before I had taken another breath. That kid must have been raised by tigers or something. His reflexes and stealth were somewhat of a legend among the students of the Academy.

"Alex." His voice was soft and his breath brushed my ear which startled me. I did not know he was so close. Stiffening, I did my best to ignore his presence; it was hard.

"Alex, talk to me," he begged and I chewed on my lip ring nervously, not turning and not answering. I had always been famous for my silence back at Sky High. Ana Lucia had not even noticed me until after she ran into me at the hospital. All the teachers had learned not to expect an answer to any question put to me. I squeezed my eyes tighter and willed Gabe to go away.

"Please, Alex." I did not move. After a few more tense seconds, I felt his sigh and he stood and moved away, climbing up to the top bunk without getting changed. Karl came out of the bathroom a few minutes later and got into his bed. Someone turned out the lights. A sort of disquieting atmosphere settled over everything, making it very uncomfortable to sleep. I tossed and turned for a while before giving up, lying on my back as I stared up at the bottom of Gabe's bunk.

It was only when the soft snoring of Gabe could be heard that I finally started to relax. My eyes closed. I drifted off to sleep.

000000000

I awoke with a jolt, sitting up so fast I knocked my head against the wooden planks. Grimacing, I settled back down and ran my hand over my face. I thought I had heard something in the room. I had been in the middle of a dream, in which everyone in Sky High except me was a monkey and I was trying to get them to make an ice-ray gun but all they wanted to do was throw bananas at me. Suddenly they all began chanting something. At first it was only in monkey speak and I couldn't understand them. Then suddenly the words morphed into English and I could hear the beating mantra of "Murderer. Murderer. Murderer."

I had tried to run away but the floors were covered with banana peels and I kept slipping. It was only when I was covered with the now screaming monkeys that I thought I heard a rustling noise and woke up. The dream was weird enough without me jumping all over the place at a small noise. I lay back down and tried to go back to sleep. But that uncomfortable feeling you get when you're being watched would not go away. Shutting my eyes tightly I tried to tell myself it was just my imagination.

Then suddenly I heard a thump and a loud, indignant "HEY!" Some scuffling was heard and then suddenly a light was switched on and I sat up to see Gabe holding a squirming Megan up against the wall. I blinked rapidly, glancing over at Karl who looked at me with an expression I could not read.

"What do you think you're _doing_?" Gabe asked the girl, not releasing her even though we were all awake now. I slowly swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood, running my hand through my unruly hair as I stared bemusedly at Megan.

"I needed to speak with Alex," she said calmly, having stopped her squirming now that she had an audience. Gabe lessened his grip on her but only slightly.

"Couldn't it have waited until _morning_?" he seethed. "What are you, nocturnal? You know we're not supposed to have girls in here after lights out anyway."

She pushed him away roughly and adjusted her tank top, which I noticed she wore with extremely short shorts. I blushed slightly for noticing her slender long legs and forced my eyes back up to her face. She was watching me with something that looked like satisfaction. I narrowed my eyes but she only looked away causally, not intimidated in the least.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you," she said in a smooth voice. She tapped Gabe on the nose with a patronizing smile. "I'll let you boys get back to bed now." Turning to me she gave me a look that sent chills down my spine.

"I'll talk with _you_ in the morning," she told me in a way that seemed almost ominous. I could do nothing but nod my head dumbly. Giving us all a sweet, deceitful smile, she flounced out of the room. Gabe glanced at me but I was already getting back into bed, not wanting the others to see how much her appearance had shaken me.

As I nodded off for the second time, I could not get rid of the feeling that Megan's arrival had something to do with my ridiculous dream. It seemed unlikely, yet the feeling was still there even as I fell into the void of darkness called sleep.

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**This chapter is a bit ambiguous, I know. But it is essential to the plot. Review and tell me what you think! :-D  
**


	21. Knowing the Enemy

**Gosh this took way too long to write! Thanks for all the compliments on the dream. I've found that most dreams really do make no sense whatsoever and therefore I try to write my dreams as realistically as possible while still keeping it essential to the storyline and where its heading. I hope you like this next chapter that took so long to write. :-P**

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**Chapter 20/Knowing the Enemy**

Violet's attempt at recruitment went about as well as mine did. The kids were just too afraid of blowing up to accept our promise to protect them. So Violet decided to do something else. We needed to know these students. We needed to know what we could use in order to coax them to join us. In order to do _that_, we needed to break into Mrs. Elridge's office where the Academy students' records were. It was risky, but Violet insisted that it was absolutely necessary.

The next question was "how?" It was a very important question. I had no idea what Mrs. Elridge's schedule was and if she had any assistants that we needed to look out for. Luckily for us, Violet did. She had worked as an assistant for the two Principals for a couple months. She was let go in order to train me.

She said that every afternoon around noon, the Elridges took a lunch break from the office and went off to the cafeteria with the rest of the students. I wondered if they would notice our absence but Violet assured me that many students skipped lunch for various reasons. The assistant would be in the front office and the file cabinet where they kept records would be locked, but Violet said she could bypass both. I was skeptical, but I didn't show it.

Right after morning classes we started our plan. Ignoring the curious glances of Gabe and Karl, I faked getting sick and excused myself to the infirmary. Violet had asked to volunteer there that morning and, being a favorite of the Elridges, she was allowed to work with the sick. When I arrived, she coaxed a fellow volunteer into picking up her shift by promising to teach him a round kick she had not even shown me yet. He instantly agreed without question.

Our next obstacle was the assistant. Violet said she could handle her so I didn't interfere. Walking steadily toward the gum-smacking, nail-filing receptionist chick, Violet only had to whisper a few words into her ear before her heavily painted eyes widened and she hurried out of the room, not even glancing at me as she did so. I gave Violet a questioning look.

"Told her Connor was looking for her," she answered with a smirk. I smirked back. I half wished I could be there to see Conner's reaction to his over-eager fangirl.

"Won't there be security cameras?" I asked in a low voice as she made her way to Mrs. Elridge's office.

"Already took care of it," Violet said confidently, opening the office door and going for the locked file cabinets. "I used my marvelous powers of persuasion and got one of the technopaths to download a minor virus into the monitors of all the security computers. They'll be all static until he fixes it which he told me should take about thirty minutes, so we only have that long before they can see us, and only fifteen minutes after _that_ before the Elridges come back."

"Are you sure we can find everything we need that quick?" I asked, growing doubtful at the seemingly easy way everything was falling into place. I was still waiting for the next shoe to fall down hard on our heads and crush us.

"If not we'll have to make do without," Violet said, jimmying the lock until the file suddenly shot out into her abdomen. She grimaced slightly but pulled out several files which she tossed toward me. "Start on those."

I set them on Mrs. Elridge's desk and tried my best to not be too nervous. "Doesn't this seem a little easy to you?" I asked in a soft voice, sure the place had some sort of bug system.

Violet gave me a look as she flipped through some files. "Your confidence in my skills is inspiring," she told me dryly. "Stop worrying and get to work."

She turned away and left me with the stack of files. The first one I picked up was of a kid I had seen around but had never spoken to. He had the same basic scenario most of the recruits had: rebellious teen run away from home only to be coerced into joining the Academy by some smooth talking persuader who was paid to do so by some account Royal Pain had. Looking under his behavioral records, I saw that he was rather arrogant and conceited. I set that one aside as a "no." He wouldn't help us unless we could assure him that no harm would come to him.

Suddenly I was hit with an inspiration. Maybe I could find out who that girl had been; the one who came to me in the last round of the Penalty Room when I was out cold. Deviating from my original search, I began looking through the files for the picture that would show me who she was. As I shifted through, I came across Karl's file. I stopped, spreading it out in front of me as I began to read it.

Apparently Karl used to have quite a brilliant mind. He had gotten all A's in school up until fourth grade then suddenly his grades began declining. I searched deeper in order to find out why. My brows knit together as I read down the file. His father had been overbearing and had pushed him to study harder and work more at being the best he could and all that stress had damaged his brain. He wasn't a genius anymore. Now he was just like everyone else, even a little less so. I remembered his bruises and winced. He certainly paid for his lack of genius. I scowled at the thought of the Academy punishing him for something he had no control over. The thought just made me all the more eager to get _out_.

I came across Chanel's file as I continued my search and could not resist taking a quick peek. A wave of pity for the girl came over me as I read how she was abused as a child and ran off to get away from her mother's boyfriend who had been making advances on her when she was only twelve. Royal Pain took her in and I could see how being a villain would appeal to Chanel. She could make the boyfriend pay for what he did to her. The thought made me sad and I wondered if there was any hope for her to not get slapped in prison but instead find a nice foster family like Ana Lucia's.

Sighing softly, I looked up and noticed Violet look at me funny.

"What?" I asked, closing the file and picking up the next one.

"Do you need more?" she asked briskly, her facial expression shifting to impassive. I looked at my dwindling stack and nodded.

"Sure."

She added more to my pile and continued with her own.

"How much time do we have left?" I asked, glancing at her wrist watch. She looked down at it too.

"About fifteen more minutes, better get back to work." And she did so without another word. Catching on to her not-so-subtle hint, I returned to my stack of records, shifting through them once more. I hoped she was having better progress than me.

I paused when I came across Jayden's file. I wondered if it would be wrong of me to look at it, me being his murderer and all. Still I felt like I should know more about him if I ever rubbed Adams the wrong way again. I wondered if Connor's file was in here as well. Remembering those ice blue eyes and the cruel intentions behind them, I shivered slightly and hesitated further before opening Jayden's file.

A large "DECEASED" stamp had been pressed over his photo in bright red ink. The word made me flinch, but I was able to read on. Apparently his mother had been the daughter of a Japanese ambassador that came to the states for some big important meeting of some kind and met Connor Adam's father while she was there. They had a fling and she went back to Japan pregnant (although she had not known it at the time). When her parents found out they were naturally furious and told her to get rid of it, but she would not. Instead she waited until it was born before sending the infant (along with a nanny) to America to a Mr. Conrad Adams.

Mr. Adams, who had been married this entire time, took the baby only after his wife left him in her anger. So he was left with a toddler Connor and an infant Jayden. He kept the nanny who took care of both boys and they were raised just like two real brothers. However Mr. Adams harbored hard feelings toward Jayden and began abusing him verbally from an early age. His older brother instincts rising up, Connor did his best to protect his younger sibling. It was then, around middle school age, that their powers began to develop.

Connor used his memory powers to wipe out the bad memories of Mr. Adam's abuse and replace it with good ones. (My eyebrows rose at that, I did not know Adams was that powerful.) Therefore Jayden grew up never knowing how much his father despised him. Finally, when the abuse turned physical, Connor got both of them out. He discovered his little brother's ability to mimic any physical action he saw.

They were discovered by Royal Pain's henchman when Jayden performed a complicated break dance move on the street just seconds after viewing the same stunt done by some street kid. When she offered them a place to live, food to eat, and a way to grow more powerful, they were hooked and joined the Academy.

I set aside this file slowly, thinking about what I had just read. I suddenly felt pity for Connor where there had been none before. I knew what it felt like to be the victim of abuse, so I couldn't relate to him that way, but I _did_ have an older brother who had done everything he could to protect me from our raging father. Guilt from the murder began to consume me and I had to shove the file away violently and pick up another before the feeling overwhelmed me.

Halfway down the new stack I had three "maybes." Looking over at Violet I saw she had a couple stacks set aside as well. One was much larger than the other and I _hoped_ that was her "maybe" pile. Trying to get a glimpse of her wristwatch, I wondered how much time we had before we had to scurry out or get caught with our hands in the cookie jar.

I still had had no progress with finding the girl from my dream. Sighing, I picked up the "no" pile and put them back into the cabinet. As I did so I noticed a file with my name on it. Hesitating, I reached over and pulled it out, curious to know how much they knew about me exactly. I was shocked to see how much detail they put together in the file. Everything was in there. From a certificate of my birth, to my latest report card before I left Sky High, it was all there. I wondered how exactly they had obtained the Sky High records and realized with a shudder that they must have an inside man. I wondered who that was and if I should be worried about Ana Lucia.

A tag near the end of the file caught my eye. Holding it closer to my face, I read the name "David Newton." My heart caught in my throat and I'm sure I gave some sort of strangled gasp because I heard a funny noise and suddenly Violet was at my elbow. She frowned as she looked down at the file and then suddenly snatched the papers away. I started and then frowned back.

"What was that—" She cut me off with an urgent look.

"Times up, they'll be here in fifteen minutes and we've got to get this place looking how it was before and be out in the hall before they do." Violet began swooping up the files and returning them to their places in the cabinet. I began to help her, doing my best to remember the names of the ones I had set aside as "maybes."

We had just put the last file away when we heard approaching footsteps. We exchanged horrified glances; the Elridges were early! Glancing around the room frantically for a place to hide, I was completely caught off my guard when Violet suddenly grabbed me and flung me down on the Mrs. Elridge's desk.

"Don't freak out, okay?" she told me in a low voice. I found I suddenly couldn't speak. Just then the door of the office opened and Violet threw herself down on top of me, her lips crashing rather painfully with mine.

I was so shocked I could not move for a moment, but I had enough sense to close my eyes and refrain from grimacing. Footsteps approached and someone cleared his or her throat. Violet slowly extracted herself from me and brushed the hair out of her eyes as she turned to whoever had walked in. I was still too stunned to move.

"What's going on here?" The bird-like voice of Mrs. Elridge, the second most important teacher in the school, rang out through the room. I opened my eyes and slowly sat up.

"Oh, um, we were just, um . . ." Violet blushed rather prettily and gestured to me vaguely. I gave Mrs. Elridge a very pathetic and weak wave, swallowing hard. She gave us both a shrewd look.

"My office is not a bedroom, Miss Walker," she said airily. "I would thank you to remember that in the future." She sniffed.

"Yes ma'am. I promise it won't happen again." Violet grabbed my thin wrist and practically dragged me out of the room. I stumbled along behind her until we were outside her room where she stopped and released my wrist. I fingered my lip tenderly. The harshness of the rather abrupt kiss had caused my teeth to bump so hard against my lip ring that it split my lip slightly.

Violet noticed my probing and grimaced apologetically. "Sorry," she said. "I couldn't think of anything else. If it makes you feel any better, it's not exactly a pleasant experience to lock lips with someone who has a lip ring. Very uncomfortable." And she poked her own lip with a finger.

I allowed a small smile. "I'll keep that in mind." She blinked at me for a moment before laughing.

"You do that." Leaning back against the door, she tilted her head as she looked up at me and again I was surprised at how much I had grown in the couple months I had been here. "How many did you find?" she asked.

"About four or five," I answered truthfully. She sighed and I figured she had not done very well herself.

"Most of them either have an ego problem or their just plain evil or their too afraid and inexperienced."

"Yeah."

She sighed again. "I guess we'll have to make do with what we've got and take it from there."

"Ten or twelve teens isn't very much," I pointed out the obvious. She shrugged.

"We'll have to make do," she repeated. "I'll try to get at least some of them into the training dome with me and I'll give them some fighting lessons. Hopefully I can get all of them and they'll all actually _learn_ something. You pulled through alright though, so I'm not too worried."

While she was talking I inadvertently started watching her lips. They were not as full as Megan's, but they _were_ kinda nice. I began wondering what it would be like to have them kiss me for real instead of just in a cover up. . . . I mentally slapped myself silly and returned my gaze to her eyes just as she was finishing up.

"Yeah," I said, for lack of something better to say since I had not really been listening in the first place. Apparently my reply came a little too late for she looked at me funny.

"You alright?" she asked worriedly. I flushed.

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" I mentally smacked myself again. I was making an idiot of myself and I needed to go. _Now_. I began backing up slowly.

"So, uh, I'll see you at the training dome," I said, before turning and hurrying away.

The first thing I did when I got to my room was rinse my mouth out with water. I didn't really _need_ to, seeing how it wasn't a French kiss or anything like that (thank God for small favors), but I still felt like I should. Karl and Gabe were back from the cafeteria and in the room when I came out. Karl glanced at me, twitched, and offered me a tiny smile. I gave him a somewhat weak one in return. Gabriel looked at me with mournful eyes, but I could not hold his gaze. I turned my back on him and walked over to the bunks where I flopped down on my bed. We usually had about five minutes to rest after lunch before meeting at the Training Dome.

Gabe gave several loud hints about how quiet the room was, but when neither I nor Karl took the bait, he left in an indignant huff. Again I felt bad for giving him the cold shoulder, but I still could not bring myself to make the first step in mending out friendship. Besides, if we were going to attack Sky High soon anyway, it did not really matter. We'd be enemies sooner or later.

Karl sidled up to the bunk and sat down beside me on the floor, twitching slightly.

"How did it go?" He alone was the only one whom I had told about the plan. I shook my head then shrugged. He got the message.

"Connor has his arms full with that assistant of Elridges all during lunch. Literally." I looked over at him and saw that he was grinning faintly. I grinned back as the mental picture settled. Then I snorted with laughter which made Karl's grin widen. "They were quite the spectacle."

"I'll bet," I said with another laugh. He grinned again and then slowly the grin died away.

"You read about me, didn't you?" he asked softly, his sandy cowlick twitching and his fingers tapping the floor agitatedly. I hesitated before I nodded.

"Yeah."

He shrugged although it looked more like a convulsion. "Well, now you know."

"You were a brainiac."

"Yeah."

"A real honest-to-goodness genius."

"Uh-huh."

"Your dad was an idiot."

He looked up at me sharply then, in surprise. I grinned faintly and slowly he matched my grin.

"Thanks, Alex," he said quietly. I reached over cautiously and laid a hand on his shoulder. He flinched slightly but held my gaze. I gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"We're going to get out of this," I said firmly, looking hard into his blue eyes.

He studied me for a moment before nodding slowly. "Okay," he answered in a whisper.

"Okay," I repeated softly.

Staring at me for a minute longer, his lips suddenly twitched as he straightened. "Hey, that's weird. I thought your eyes were black. But they're not; they're dark brown."

I grinned suddenly and pulled back my hand, folding them both underneath my head as I stared up at the doodles and sketches above me. "So I've been told."

* * *

**Gahhhh, yeah I know the whole "cover-up kiss" thing is a bit cliche, but I was watching Smallville a couple weeks ago, Episode "Magnetic," where Chloe and Clark are "caught" in the records room of the hospital and thought that it would kinda help move Violet and Alex's relationship along without being too intentional. The rest of the chapter built itself around that one scene so you should be grateful it's there otherwise you'd have no chapter! ;-) :-P I tried to make it more original with Alex's response (or lack thereof), but yeah. Don't worry, the next chapter will be more original (I hope). :-P**

**So yeah, we've gotten to know some of our fellow students a lot better, haven't we? Review and tell me what you think! :-D**


	22. Interlude: Zach Miller and Maj Walker

**Chapter 21/Interlude: Zach Miller and Magenta Walker**

**Zach**

It started out with all eight of us at the meeting. Lash wanted to talk us into going with him to that place Royal Pain put her SuperVillain Academy. Everyone had an excuse not to. Will's dad and mom were taking him to China or someplace weird like that to train him for something or other. Ethan was working on a very important science project. Warren had someone to beat up or something. Layla was saving trees. Ana Lucia was visiting the Superhero Hospital to join the healers working on fixing up a hero I had never heard of before. So in the end it was just me, Magenta, and Lash. But hey, at least we got cool walkie-talkies (Magenta's dad's a cop).

Lash drove us out to where Penny had marked the spot. Magenta said that Penny might have been lying about the location, and I mentioned I was hungry. And I was! But all I got was "the Look." According to the map, the entrance to the "secret lair" was in the middle of the second half of Maxville's city park (a street runs down the middle of it). We fanned out once we started into the trees, looking for anything that looked like a secret lair place . . . thing. That's what the walkie-talkies were for. They were fun.

"Hey Maj, what do you get when an elephant crosses a skunk? Over." I snickered.

The walkie-talkie crackled and Maj's voice came over, sounding somewhat annoyed.

"What do you get, Zach?"

"You forgot to say over. Over."

"What do you get, Zach? Over." I could almost hear her roll her eyes. She was so cute when she rolled her eyes.

"A big stinker! Over."

I heard someone stifling a laugh from way over to my left . . . or was that my right? I checked my arms. It was my left (I wore my black cuff on my left arm).

"Nice, Zach," she said dryly and the walkie-talkie crackled. "Did you hear about the one with the walking, talking, annoying light bulb? Over."

I knew she'd think it was funny. Lash however, didn't. I was about to ask about the walking, talking, annoying light bulb, but Lash interrupted me.

"Shut up, you two. We're supposed to be looking for the Academy." His voice came out in an angry hiss that reminded me of Ethan's pet snake. Well, before I accidentally left it outside the day after Christmas and it froze to death. Poor Susie.

"You forgot to say over," I reminded Lash. "Over."

He growled. "This _conversation_ is over. Besides, we're supposed to be on comm. silence unless we find something, re_mem_ber?"

"Oh yeah right, I forgot. Sorry! Over."

"My bad," Maj said very sarcastically.

I whispered into the walkie-talkie: "you forgot the over. Over."

"Over."

"Shut _up_!"

We continued searching with no one talking. Things were going okay, a bit boring but I guess that kinda goes with a search. It took a while for us to find anything but I was the one who did. Well, really I ran into it.

"Ow! Hey, guys, check it out! A metal tree!"

The two came over and stared at the tree in front of me. I rubbed my forehead where an egg was forming as we looked at the seemingly harmless tree. Magenta stepped forward and ran her hand over the surface. Her hand seemed to disappear for a second before she quickly pulled back.

"It's a hologram!" she said, surprised.

"Wicked awesome!" I cried, reaching over to feel for myself. "Feel's like an elevator door." I commented.

Lash snorted. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," he said.

Maj pushed me away and felt for herself again. "No, it _does_," she said, surprised again. I grinned.

"Ha! In your _face!_" I leaned over Lash menacingly in triumph. He just looked up at me and blinked.

"You _really_ don't want to do that," he told me in a low voice. I backed down quickly.

"Right, sorry dude."

Magenta kept running her hand up and down the tree, looking for a door knob I guess. There was a series of sharp clicks that seemed to come from the tree and I frowned in confusion as she drew her hand back quickly.

"Did you guys hear that?" I asked.

"No," Lash said with a frown. "I didn't hear anything."

"I think I might have tripped something," Maj said, her brown eyes wide.

I looked down at her feet but could not see anything she might have tripped. Then we heard the growling. Swallowing hard, I turned and suddenly screamed. A large bear was barreling toward us. Maj paled and Lash pointed to the tree.

"Quick, climb!" he shouted, stretching so that his hands grabbed a branch way up high, pulling his body up. Show off.

I quickly scrambled up the tree as fast as I could. Magenta was right behind me. Now that I think of it, I should have let her go first, but I was too scared to think much. I'm also embarrassed to say that I kept screaming like a little girl too. I was almost to the third branch when I heard a different scream. Looking behind me, I saw that the bear had reached the tree and had grabbed Maj's leg. Thankfully she was wearing her combat boots, but his nails were still sharp enough to pull her back down to the ground.

She hit the ground with a grunt and lay very still. Panic squeezed my guts painfully.

"Maj!" I screamed, scrambling to go back down. A hand grabbing my shirt stopped me. I looked up to see Lash way up high above me, keeping a firm grip on my shirt.

"No," he said in a quiet, urgent voice. "Don't go down there. It'll only attack you too. Look, it's not hurting her."

I looked down and sure enough, the bear was sniffing at Magenta's still body with little interest. Finally it seemed to sneeze and, with a glance up at us, lumbered away without another word. I waited until it was gone before scrambling down the tree to make sure my girlfriend was still alive.

Lash dropped down next to me as I knelt beside her and took her shoulders in my hands, shaking her.

"Magenta? Magenta wake up!"

Lash pushed me away and put his fingers underneath her jawline. I watched, frowning, as he closed his eyes briefly and then opened them.

"She's alive," he said.

"What the heck?" Maj mumbled as she started to move slowly. I pulled her to me in a bone-crushing hug that had her soon gasping for breath. "Let me go you lump of a boyfriend!" she cried. "I can't breathe!" I dropped her abruptly which made her groan and me wince.

"Sorry."

Lash held out a hand to her and pulled her to her feet. "You okay?" he asked with what looked like concern. She nodded absently and pushed her dark hair out of her eyes.

"I'm fine," she said, rubbing the back of her head. "Let's not do that again, okay?"

I nodded readily. It took Lash a moment but then he nodded too. "It was probably rigged anyway," he said, running a hand through his hair. "We should try to recruit a technopath or two to come and look at this thing." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the tree.

"Meanwhile I'm going home," Maj said with a groan. I stepped up next to her.

"Want me to take you?" I asked, forgetting that we had all come in Lash's car anyway.

"Lash can drop me off, thanks," she said, smiling slightly. Her smile made me feel better.

We all trooped back to the car and handed back our walkie-talkies. I wanted to keep mine so we could talk to each other during the night without waking people up with phones, but Magenta pointed out that she needed to give them back to her dad because he actually used it for his job. I handed mine over.

The trip back was boring but we weren't ambushed again so that was good. Magenta only let me kiss her cheek when we got to her house but I think that's just because Lash was in the car too.

* * *

**Maj**

When I dragged my aching body up my driveway and into my house I knew a couple of aspirin was _not_ going to get rid of my headache. From the moment I closed the door I could hear the shouting and yelling. That meant my dad was home with another lousy paycheck. Sighing, I dropped the walkie-talkies on the kitchen table and went to the fridge to get some orange juice. Lilac looked up from her homework and saw the radios.

"Ooh, Dad's gonna be mad when he finds out you took his radios," she said in that airily superior voice that makes me want to kick something. I turned to her with a glare.

"No he won't cuz he's not gonna find out," I told her and narrowed my eyes. "Got it?"

She shrugged. "Fine. If you want to end up a criminal like Violet go ahead." She suddenly brightened. "Can I have your room when you go to jail?"

I gave a muffled scream of frustration and stormed out of the kitchen. I had been attacked by a bear, fallen on my head, and now my ankle was hurting like crazy. Looking down and inspecting my boot I saw that the bear's claws had gone through the leather and had given me a couple of nice looking scratches. I winced when I pulled the Doc Marten off my foot and inspected the bleeding cuts. Limping into the bathroom, I washed them as best I could while wearing a miniskirt and then plastered them with band aids.

When I came out of the bathroom and went downstairs, I found myself caught in the middle of my parent's argument.

"Where have you been?" My mom wanted to know. "You were supposed to be home from school two hours ago!"

"I was hanging out with Zach," I stated truthfully, crossing my arms and frowning.

"What happened to your foot?" my dad asked.

I looked down at my feet and then up at them. I shrugged. "Rose bush."

"What were you doing in a rose bush?" Mom raised an eyebrow. I scowled.

"None of your business," I snapped, just because I knew if I acted all irritable and secretive about it they would take that as the truth. Dad turned to mom.

"If she gets knocked up by that gigantic boyfriend of hers, don't say I didn't tell you," he said, going so far as to shake his finger at her. I rolled my eyes.

"Dad, we weren't—"

"Oh so it's all _my_ fault that our daughter is a rebellious teenager!" Mom shot back angrily. "Might I point out that her problem could be that _your never home_?!"

I grimaced as my dad's face turned a color somewhere between red and purple. "Well excuse me for wanting to _provide_ for my family!"

"Your constant absence is '_providing_' for us?" Mom scoffed. She then went on in a blur of Chinese that made me raise my eyebrows in surprise at her veiled profanity and made my dad grow even angrier (he hated it when she spoke Chinese to him especially since he could not understand her). Finally she tapered down to English once more.

"Why don't you just say what this is really about huh?" she demanded. "You're too afraid to admit that _your_ negligence is what drove Violet away!"

Finally I had had enough. Clamping my hands over my ears, I screamed at the top of my lungs: "WILL YOU _PLEASE_ STOP ARUGING FOR ONE _MINUTE_?!"

That caused them to stop and look at me in shock. I did not wait for a reprimand. Instead I pushed past them and fled out the back door, heading for a place I knew they would never find me.

However one person did. It took him a good fifteen minutes, but soon enough I saw his scruffy head pop up over the top of the rope ladder that led to the treehouse that sat in the huge oak tree behind our house. I was scrunched up in a corner in the back with my knees pulled up and my face hidden in them. However when I heard his strugglings I looked up and my mouth twitched slightly when he finally appeared.

"You know someone could break their neck climbing up that thing," he informed me as he pulled his lanky body over the side of the trapdoor and then closed it behind him after he pulled up the rope. I grinned slightly.

"Vi could leap up here in one bound, we never really needed the stupid thing," I told him, suddenly frowning as I was reminded with a familiar pang of how much I missed my older sister. Indigo noticed the frown and walked over to sit beside me, putting his arm over my shoulder. I leaned against him and sighed.

"Are Mom and Dad still fighting?" I wondered aloud.

"Naw, I think you scared them out of it," Indigo said, resting his chin on my hair and rubbing my shoulder. It was nice having a big brother who was older than you enough to baby you. Sure he was a big pain a lot of times, but times like this made me very thankful for him.

"Hmph, good," I said flatly, glad my breakdown had some positive effect on _someone_.

"You okay?" he asked after a moment of silence. I shrugged noncommittally. "You know they just worry about you." I didn't say anything. He finally sighed and gave up.

"You're prickly bush sometimes, Magenta, you know that?" he said, digging his fingers into my side in an attempt to tickle me. I pushed him off.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" I asked, frowning up at him.

"I mean you don't let anyone get close enough to help you. Have you even _told_ your friends at Sky High about Mom and Dad?" He frowned down at me and I found I couldn't hold his gaze. I looked away.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because it's none of their business!"

He sighed. "But they could help you, you know. Help you deal with it. You hold it all up inside and then you explode like you just did with Mom and Dad." I ground my jaw back and forth as I listened, trying my best not to pay attention to his words yet feeling them pound into my skull whether I wanted them to or not.

"You got to let someone in sometime, Maj. Or you're going to end up bitter and resentful like Violet."

I laughed harshly. "Oh I'm already there, trust me." He frowned again but this time it was sad.

"Then I'm really sorry to hear that," he said softly. Pulling me close he pressed his lips against my forehead in a firm kiss. "I know you can take care of yourself, little sis," he told me as he pulled away and opened the trapdoor to let the rope ladder fall to the ground. "But you can't always save yourself. Sometimes you need a hero."

Giving me a sly wink to accompany his cryptic words, he disappeared down the ladder. I gave a frustrated growl and slapped the trap door shut after him. Then I retreated to my corner and brooded over his words for the rest of the day.

* * *

**So I've been brewing up another Sky High story to write after this one that follows the same storyline with the characters. This chapter hints at some of the stuff that will be covered in that story. Keep an eye out for it; it'll be called "Wildfire." I had a lot of fun writing this chapter with Zach's POV along with Magenta's. Review and tell me what you think! :-D  
**


	23. Midnight Training

**Chapter 22/Midnight Training**

Well in the end we only convinced five of the original ten to join us. So with me, Violet, and Karl (Diane had decided to back out) that made eight. Not a very impressive number I must say. The next two weeks we trained secretly in the dome late at night. I did not ask Violet how she had gotten the key to the Training Dome, and she did not tell me.

There was petite Akira Nakamura, sixteen years old, who could turn into water. Her power was cooler than Ethan's though because she could morph into practically anything in her liquid form. I didn't know if Ethan could do that. She looked all cute and pixie-like, but she was a mean fighter. I still had bruises from our practice fight two days after she completely whooped my butt. She had been bribed into coming to the Academy. Bribed with the promise of power. An easy trap to fall into. That's the one I fell for.

There was gangly Arnold Banks, seventeen years old, who was seven feet tall and could manipulate his body like rubber. Kinda weird to watch but very handy in tight spots. Ha, ha. He thought he was cooler than Mr. Fantastic, but we just ignored him when he went off on a tangent bragging about himself. Got kinda annoying but what can you do to a guy ten heads taller than you? He wore his red hair long and in his face, but would not cut it even when Violet suggested it would be better for fighting purposes. He had volunteered for the Academy, since his dad had been a super villain, without knowing the consequences. Now he just wanted to get fans and more publicity. Not a very solid case but we accepted it. We were desperate.

Peter Slocum was very quiet and did not say much, but he did not have to considering he was telepathic. I was glad I did not have the fourteen-year-old's power. I caught him constantly wincing and paling while we trained; and when I saw the wicked smirk on Akira's face I knew she was thinking dirty thoughts on purpose to make him uncomfortable. I felt bad for him but I was not about to go up against her. He remained on the fringe of the group, probably because of Akira, but I found we actually had a lot in common, which was probably why he agreed to help us in the first place. He had been threatened to join. Both his parents were super villains and had made him go under pain of severe punishment (he would not tell us what the punishment was).

Charlotte Beauregarde was a toughie. Because while Akira had her moments of kindness and gentility (they were rare, but still surfaced from time to time), Charlotte, or Charlie as she liked to be called, was downright mean. Poor Peter could not stand to be near the fifteen-year-old and we all wondered why she had agreed to join our little resistance group. She put us down, she smart-mouthed to Violet, and she acted downright lazy most of the time. However her power was flight and we knew that would come in handy in a place like Sky High. So we did our best to put up with her. She was at the Academy because her father wanted her to be. She hated her father so this turn was to spite him. Again, not a promising hero but we needed her.

Last, but not least, was Richard Bright. This seventeen-year-old had the power of precognition, an invaluable asset, as Violet would say. He could only see three seconds into the future when not in deep concentration, yet still it gave him amazing reflexes in a fight. When he _did_ see farther into the future, it was usually very vague and ever changing. That did not help us, but his great fighting skills did. He had been seduced into joining by his girlfriend, who had ultimately dumped him his second year in.

So every night we gathered in the Training Dome where Violet taught us to fight. Since I had already been subject to her tutelage, I was allowed to be assistant teacher. Richard and Peter did not mind, preferring me to Violet in that I was a guy and they were somewhat uncomfortable with beating up girls . . . even in training. Akira liked me to teach her because she never tired of finding an excuse to beat me up. It was somewhat crushing to one's ego to have a girl that was three heads shorter than you own you in a fight. Still, I put up with it for Violet's sake.

Charlie and Arnold only worked with Violet. They refused to work with me because they believed they were better than me or something. They thought they were better than a lot of people. It was really interesting to read their emotions. Most of the time I only had time to read their surface emotions, the pride, the anger, the bitterness, the scorn; but every once in a while, when they were vulnerable, I was able to dig deeper and find the part of them that was hurting. That was when I knew they belonged in our group.

I steadily grew more confident in my ability to manipulate someone's emotions. Although I went a little too far once when I got poor Peter so depressed he started begging for Charlie to kill him. I had stopped immediately and apologized profusely to the sobbing boy. Charlie had inserted a very mean and sarcastic comment, Akira had told her to shut up, and in the end Violet had to dismiss us after a couple moments of mean-spirited fist-fighting (excluding Karl of course; he just stood by and twitched).

Richard wanted to name our group, Charlie and Arnold thought it was a stupid idea. Karl just started twitching. We argued over the suggestion while we warmed up for the training sessions until finally Violet cut us all off, declared we acted worse than a group of toddlers, and said the name of our group would be "Maquis." We all stared at her blankly until she explained that it was the name of a French resistance force against the Germans in World War II. I thought it was a little too ambiguous, but everyone else liked it and even Charlie agreed it was "acceptable."

So Maquis we were; hopefully others would be learned enough to get it.

00000000

One day, after a rather vicious beating by Akira, while I sat nursing my wounds in my room, Gabriel came up to me. He sat down on the ground in front of me and stared, taking in my bruised chest and arms, my pale, tired face and the circles underneath my eyes.

"You're up to something," he declared. I looked at him warily.

"What do you mean?" I asked carefully.

"I mean you have a secret and you're not telling me!" he exclaimed, pouting but seeming pleased that I had apparently started talking to him again. I pursed my lips. He went on to guess.

"Don't tell me. . . . You're shacking up with Violet, right? Lucky dog." He grinned widely at me as my face grew flushed, and my back stiffened in indignation.

"NO! I am _not_," I spat, horrified at the very idea. Gabriel looked surprised at my vehement response. He backed down quickly under my stormy gaze, holding up his hands as if in self-defense.

"Cool it man, I was just kidding around," he said, surprising me by his quick capitulation. He must have been more eager to make up with me than I thought. I sighed and rubbed my forehead wearily.

"Look, I can't tell you Gabe, alright? But I promise you'll find out . . . eventually."

He did not look satisfied, but he nodded, obviously not wanting to get into a fight. He stood slowly, looking down at me with hurt flickering in his eyes. Starting to turn away he stopped, took a deep breath, and then turned back, kneeling in front of me and trying to catch my gaze as I looked away.

"You know I had no choice right?" he asked in a low, quiet voice. I grimaced. I did not want to talk about it now . . . or ever. However I could not stop him now. "They told me to do it. I couldn't say no. Besides, it was just a wimpy kid from Sky High. I mean, those are our enemies." He gave a small laugh as if that would make everything all better.

I gritted my teeth and willed myself not to snap at him or contradict him, lest he catch on to the fact that I no longer supported the SuperVillain community.

"You know what Gabe?" I started to say, and then decided it was not worth it. I could not compromise Maquis. "Whatever." I stood abruptly and left the room, not wanting to face him again. I wondered if it was too late in the year to switch dorm rooms. But then I thought of Karl and knew I couldn't do that. Sure he was Gabe's pet too, but he needed an ally.

I made my way to Violet's room where I often went when I needed advice or company. She had truly become my best friend; a better friend than Ana Lucia ever was . . . of course that was not really fair to Ana Lucia since she had other kids to take care of at the school she volunteered at. Ana Lucia would always be my very good friend, but Violet and I had something special. I could feel it. Like the way she had known I was reading her emotions. No one had ever felt that before. It was weird.

I knocked on her door and she opened it and stared at me. "Wow, this would be almost like déjà vu if you weren't covered in bruises," she said with a small smirk as she opened the door wider to invite me in. I was confused for a moment before I remembered appearing at her door after I had first decided not to ruin my life by staying in this Academy.

"You want me to put on Indigo's shirt?" I asked, snickering slightly as I stepped into the room. Violet grinned.

"Of course," she said, and tossed me the overlarge shirt which I put on quickly. It did not hang on me as limply as it had before, I noticed with pride. My skinny body had gradually been transformed into a wiry, strong body that I had to admit looked pretty good. I had even allowed Violet to cut my long hair. I almost did not recognize myself when I looked in the mirror. It wasn't a buzz cut or anything, but it was off my neck and felt weird.

"You know," Violet said, smirking as I took my usual spot in an overlarge chair in the corner. "I'm not sure you sneaking to my room so much is a good idea. People might start talking." She grinned as she took _her_ usual spot on the floor in front of me. I rolled my eyes.

"They already do," I said, frowning darkly as I thought of Gabe and his comment about it. I shrugged. "But I don't really care. I like spending time with you." I grinned back faintly.

"Yeah well, too bad this can't be a social call," Violet said, sighing and rubbing her temple with one hand. I looked at her quizzically.

"What do you mean?"

"We need to talk about Maquis," she said, crossing her legs and leaning her elbows on them. "The attack on Sky High is next week and I don't think we're ready."

"Why?" I asked. "Because Arnold and Charlie are a pain and can't get through a training session without starting an argument?"

"Exactly. I don't think we have good enough teamwork to be able to pull off something like this."

I huffed in frustration at the dilemma and missed the hair that gesture usually ruffled. "You sure we can't do without Arnold and Charlie?" I asked for about the tenth time. Violet did not even answer, just looked at me. I sighed and stood, moving to take off the shirt to give it back to her as I walked toward the door to leave.

"Keep it," Violet said suddenly and I looked over at her in surprise.

"You sure?" I asked, looking down at the shirt and knowing how much Violet missed her brother. She shrugged.

"Yeah. I'm not using it." She grinned slightly and walked over to open the door for me. "See you tonight," she added as I left.

"Right," I said, remembering the training and grimacing slightly at the thought of facing Akira again. Violet seemed to read my mind as she suddenly smirked.

"You might want to wrap your torso before then," she said, winking at me and holding back a laugh.

I made a face. "Ha, ha," I muttered, leaving quickly before she could tease me further. I did not want to go back to the dorm room where Gabe was no doubt waiting to pounce on me, so instead I walked to the cafeteria. Dinner had ended several hours ago but I wasn't going there for food but for solitude.

I had just scrunched down over a table when I felt my skin begin to crawl. I did not have to look up to see who had just entered the room. She walked over to me and stood behind me, probably reveling in the fact that her silence and presence was making me feel more and more uncomfortable.

"Someone's out of bed," she purred, and I felt her fingers slide through my hair. I shuddered but did not lift my head from my arms which were folded on the table-top. "You know curfew started ten minutes ago."

"Then what are _you_ doing up?" I asked irritably, my voice muffled.

She laughed; I cringed. She ran her hands up and down my hunched back slowly, seductively. I groaned inwardly. It had been a good two weeks since she had last come on to me, but it looked like she still hadn't given up. I stiffened and her hands stopped; I breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

"You really should go back to your room now," she said, backing up slowly. I straightened and stood, frowning down at her.

"Fine," I muttered, and started to move around her toward the double doors that would lead me away. Facing Gabriel was better than staying here and enduring this torture. However she stopped me with a hand on my arm, drawing close to me and looking up into my face.

"I still haven't spoken to you about why I was in your room the other night. So you can come with me, if you'd like," she said in a low voice, licking her lips slowly. I turned my gaze away.

"No, I would not like," I said coldly, pulling my arm away swiftly.

She looked disappointed for a split second, and then coy. Stepping even closer, she slithered her arms up around my neck and pressed flush against me. It was all I could do not to pick her up and throw her across the room.

"You will eventually," she told me with a conspiratorial wink. I looked away. Leaning up, she pressed her dark lips to my neck and held them there for a moment before scraping her teeth lightly against my jugular vein. Shuddering in disgust, I pushed her away hard and skirted around her, fleeing from the room. I felt somewhat cowardly afterwards, but there was no way I was going to stick around to find out how _that_ scene ended.

My heart was pounding out of my chest when I arrived back at the room. Gabe was already in his top bunk and peacefully snoring. Karl propped himself up on his elbow and took in my white, sweaty face and hard breathing.

"Megan?" he asked after a moment.

I nodded, unable to speak. He gave me a sad sort of smile, twitching slightly.

"Figures," he said, before lying back down and turning away. I wondered what _that_ meant but decided not to press the matter, seeing how everyone was so cryptic in this place anyway. I probably would not have received any satisfactory answers. Huffing slightly to myself in frustration and annoyance, I climbed into my own bunk and closed my eyes, banishing every thought of Megan from my mind and concentrating on how we were going to whip our little group into shape by next week. Oy, it would not be easy.

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**I know you guys are all wondering what Megan's deal is. Trust me, it'll all be revealed in due time. ;-) Meanwhile, please review this chapter and tell me what you think! :-D  
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	24. Author's Note

Since I am participating in NaNoWriMo this year (that stands for National Novel Writing Month) I'm afraid updates on all my stories will be rather slow in coming. I really will try to get some chapters up but trying to write 50,000 words in one month requires a lot of time. Don't worry though; as soon as November's over I'll be back with more updates much more frequently. Thank you all for being so patient with me and for being so faithful in your reviews! ::Gives out virtual cookies as a thanks::

Oh and Happy Halloween and (Early) Thanksgiving!

Ryan Brooklyn


	25. Coup D'etat

**Hey ya'll!! Well I'm back. Whew! That was a long month! I did reach my goal of 50k words in one month (yay me!!) and although my novel is not yet completed (still has about two or three chapters left) I'm very proud of myself. In celebration, look! You have a new chapter!! Hope ya'll enjoy; it's getting to the exciting part now. :-D**

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**Chapter 23/Coup D'état**

The coup came too soon. I knew in an instant we weren't ready. We had tried to get together the night before, but everyone was in the dome, working out and getting ready for the fight. We had melted into the crowd and trained individually. When I looked over at Violet and our eyes met, I knew she thought we weren't ready either.

They lined us up and picked out those most likely to do well in the attack. The entire group of Maquis was picked along with several others. Josh, Megan, Gabe, and Chanel were among those picked. Many were surprised with Karl was picked, but no explanation was given as to why he had been.

They then led is down to an underground hanger that held a huge ship that made many eyes boggle at the sight of it. I was not very surprised. I had wondered how we were to get to Sky High and flying seemed like the most likely option. I did wonder how we were to go undetected, but once we were inside and had begun to take off I realized that the ship had an invisibility cloak.

The ceiling opened above us and we flew out from a spot heavily covered in trees. The students were all chatting excitedly but Akira, Richard, Peter, Violet, Karl and I remained quiet. After a while Violet approached me.

"They're going to select a few people to go down first to turn off the engine that moves Sky High. It will be easier for the ship to stay close for immediate departure if necessary."

"Who will they pick?" I asked. I hoped it was not me, I didn't even _know_ where the engine room was.

Violet shrugged. She glanced around and then leaned closer to me in order to whisper, "Just thought I'd warn you . . . this is the night of the Spring Fling dance. Everyone will be there."

I paled slightly. "But that means . . ."

She nodded grimly.

"Magenta?"

A pained look entered her eyes as she nodded again, her lips pressed tightly together.

"She sent me a letter saying she was going with Zach," she said softly. She gave me an imploring look that needed no words.

"I promise that if I find her, I'll keep her safe," I said, nodding.

"Thank you, Alex," she said, sighing with relief as she reached over and gave my hand a light squeeze. I squeezed her hand back with a half-hearted smile. She then moved on to speak to the other Maquis members and after she spoke to him, Richard approached me.

"Alex," he whispered, sitting down next to me. "I need to tell you something."

I glanced sidelong at him, wondering why he was whispering. "What?" I asked, wishing he would just get on with whatever it was.

"I was meditating and I saw something," he went on hesitantly. He stopped.

I rolled my eyes. "Just spit it out Richard."

"You die."

I blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I saw you, on the ground covered in blood. You were dead." He looked very apologetic but I refused to believe it.

"Yeah well you know how your visions of the future often turn up bogus? Please don't blame me if I decide to think that now, okay?" I licked my lips nervously, and chewed on my lip ring once I got to it.

Richard flushed slightly but he nodded. "Sure thing, Alex," he mumbled before getting up and moving away. I sighed and ran a hand through my now short hair. It felt weird.

We were drawing close to Sky High now, and I wondered how they knew where it was in the first place. I started when Megan suddenly appeared at my arm. "Come Alex," she said, her tone business-like, which threw me off immediately. "The Elridges need to talk to you."

I stood slowly, watching her warily as I followed. The Elridges were at a low table, bending over what appeared to be blueprints. I got a sick feeling in my stomach when I began to figure out where this was going.

"Ah, Mr. Newton," Mr. Elridge looked up as me and Megan approached. "Just the young man I wanted to see." He gestured to the blueprints. "Our contact in Sky High has given us these prints, but we need someone with stealth to go and turn off the engine to the school. It must remain in one place if we are to be successful."

"And you want me to do it," I surmised with an inward sigh.

"Right you are. Your invisibility is quite handy when it comes to stealth and you know the school. I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding the room and shutting it down."

"Yeah," I said, huffing silently. "No problem."

"Good man. Our contact will make sure you have no trouble going in. Oh and you'll need a date."

"A what?" I asked blankly.

"Well this is a dance. You can't show up without a date. Megan has volunteered so—"

"Actually sir, if you don't mind. I'd rather it be Akira." She was the first person I could think of that would not look suspicious. Besides with her power she could be virtually undetected if need be. Mr. Elridge seemed to recognize that.

"Very well then," he said and nodded to Megan. "Make sure she is dressed suitably." Megan nodded and hurried off. He turned to me. "Now, you need a tuxedo. A black one will do." He held out his hand and Mrs. Elridge suddenly appeared next to him with a dress bag in her hands. She shoved it at me and I caught it before it fell to the ground.

"Change quickly," she squawked. "We don't have much time."

Somewhat disturbed by this entire thing, I nodded and moved to a different part of the ship to change. I did so quickly, almost ripping a sleeve in my haste. When I was ready I went to the main control room where they were actually flying the thing. Akira was there waiting for me. She looked unusually pretty in a straight red dress that ended just above her knees. It was just a plain dress but her hair was done up and she was wearing makeup for the first time, I think, in her life.

"Wow, Akira, you look hot," I said with a smirk, stepping up beside her.

"Shut up, Newton," she said with a scowl. "I feel naked in this thing. Gah, I hate dresses." She muttered a few profanities under her breath, which just made my smirk widen. She gave me a pointed look.

"Watch it bub, you're treading on dangerous waters here. And I don't mean the mission."

I rolled my eyes and was about to retort when the Elridges entered. They looked over us skeptically and I saw Mrs. Elridge's disapproving gaze when she looked at my lip ring. I figured she was just lucky I didn't have long hair with it.

"You will both go down to Sky High and enter as you would a normal school dance. Once you're inside you will go directly to the engine room. It's in the basement of the school. There our contact will show you how to disable it. Then you must stay there and wait for orders. Understand?" Mr. Elridge stared hard at us and we had no choice but to nod. "Good. Run along then."

"Excuse me sir," I said suddenly. "How are we supposed to get—?"

I cut off abruptly as I realized we were suddenly standing on the lawn of Sky High, looking up at the steps to the front doors. I glanced up and saw the ship move past overhead.

"Beaming technology," I realized in a breath. "Awesome."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure Captain Kirk would be very proud," Akira said impatiently. "Let's just get this over with, okay? I don't want to stay in this freakin' villain school any longer than I have to." She punched my stomach lightly and started for the steps.

"Hey wait, you're _my_ date, remember?" I told her, holding out my arm for her take. She smirked.

"Well aren't we the gentleman tonight?" she said with a raised eyebrow.

"Well I don't know about you, but yeah, I try," I answered with a smirk.

Before she could punch me again, we reached the doors. I took a deep breath as we paused, glancing at each other a little worriedly. After we stopped the engines the villains would invade and we would have to fight. And people were going to get hurt . . . possibly even killed. Richard saw me dead. There was that possibility too. I shuddered and Akira reached over to give my arm a light squeeze.

"You ready to do this, Newton?" she asked in a low voice. I glanced down at her and attempted a smile.

"I'm fine," I lied. "Let's do this thing."

We walked into the building together. I could hear the sounds of a band playing in the gymnasium. We turned away from that direction however and headed down the opposite hallway. I wondered when they expected me to turn invisible. The time became evident when a group of students coming from the direction of the bathrooms came down the hall. Instantly I turned invisible and Akira melted beside me. We waited until the students had passed before returning to normal.

"We'd better hurry," Akira said, walking briskly toward the door that would open to the stairs that would lead to the basement. I followed swiftly.

"Who do you think the contact is?" I asked, hoping it was not anyone I knew.

"Well, I'm guessing that since she's the only one down here besides us, that it's that girl," Akira said, pointing to a slender blonde who had her back to us, standing near a door at the back of the basement. She turned around when she heard us and I frowned in confusion.

"Kristi Drake?" I asked, incredulous.

"Alex Newton?" she asked back, just as incredulous.

"Hey, what about me?" Akira asked. Kristi and I just blinked blankly at her. "Fine, never mind." She rolled her eyes. I stepped forward hesitantly.

"_You're_ the contact?" I asked, frowning, wondering how a sweet girl like her had ended up being a villain . . . or at least ended up working for one.

"I had to Alex," Kristi said, looking almost as sad as I was disappointed. "They know where my cousin lives. They were going to hurt him if I didn't help them. He's only a kid."

I chewed on my lip ring absently, thinking. "Hey Kristi," I said, beckoning her towards us. She approached hesitantly.

"Newton, what do you think you are doing?" Akira hissed at me. I ignored her.

"Kristi, we're planning an uprising. Among the students of the Academy. You don't need to work for them anymore. We're going to take them down."

Kristi looked sad. "Oh I wish you could Alex," she said with a sigh. "But I don't think it's possible."

"We've been training, we have a strategy. We _can_ win. The heroes always do, right?" I attempted an encouraging smile.

"Yeah, in comic books," Akira said, snorting.

"_Not helping_," I muttered to her out of the side of my mouth. She rolled her eyes.

"I-I can agree not to give you away," Kristi said. "I can promise anything more. I'm sorry."

I sighed. "I understand. You've got to protect your cousin."

"He's only eleven," she said softly. I nodded.

"Right then, let's get this engine offline."

Kristi glanced at the door she was standing in front of and we moved up as Akira opened it. We entered cautiously, closing it behind us. "That's the console," Kristi said, pointing at a board covered in buttons. I blinked, surprised.

"And it's not guarded?" I asked incredulously.

Kristi blushed. "_I'm_ guarding it," she told me.

"Oh right, double agent," I said and tried to ignore her wince at the words. I looked over the board. "Which is it then?" I asked.

"Perhaps this one?" Akira suggested, pointing to a dial that had written above it on masking tape "SUBLIGHT ENGINES." One side said "OFF" and the other said "ON."

"Wow, you'd think they'd name it something not so obvious," I said, blinking. Akira shrugged.

"Guess we give them too much credit," she said, turning to dial to "off."

"Now that won't turn off the anti-gravity boosters, will it?" I asked nervously.

"Well if it did we'd be falling by now," Akira pointed out.

I wondered if I should just glue my mouth shut all together, seeing as everything coming out of it at the moment was idiotic. Almost immediately we heard the sound of screams.

"Must have beamed right into the gymnasium," Akira said, glancing upwards. Kristi and I followed her gaze. I grimaced.

"We should go up and help them," I said, heading for the door.

"We're supposed to wait for orders, remember?" Akira reminded me with a pointed look.

"So what, you're going to obey them? The villains?" I scowled at her. Kristi bit her lip.

"Don't you think it'll look suspicious if they call to tell us to do something and we don't answer?" Akira said.

"How are they supposed to contact us anyway?" I asked. "We don't have any radios or—"

An intercom to my right crackled and suddenly spoke. "Drake, Newton, Nakamura, you there?"

I blinked. "Now that is just freaky," I muttered, reaching over to press down the button to talk back.

"Here, sir," I said, and waited.

"Good. Nakamura? You and Drake are to go to the gym immediately and help with the round up. Newton, you need to find your _former_ friends and make sure they don't cause any trouble."

"By myself, sir?" I asked, glancing nervously at Akira and Kristi.

"You're one of our most powerful students, Newton," Elridge said and I could almost see the smarmy smile on his face. "I know you won't let us down."

I sighed as he cut out and glanced over at Akira and Kristi. "Must have had a technopath," I said lamely, explaining the reason for the intercom working.

"Or was just in a room with an intercom," Akira said.

"Or that." I sighed and ran a hand over my face. "Well, we've got our assignments. We'd better get going. Spread the word to Maquis. We've got to get together with Stronghold's gang as soon as possible. Together it'll be easier than trying to take them on one by one."

Akira nodded. "Gotcha, chief," she said, saluting. Then suddenly she stood on tiptoe, grabbed my face between her hands and pulled my head down in order to plant a firm kiss on me. I was too surprised to pull away. After a short second she pulled away.

"Wha?" I asked, blinking blankly.

"Don't get your hopes up, tiger," Akira said in a warning tone. "That's just a 'in case we don't make it kiss.' Nothing else."

"Right," I said slowly, still not completely understanding. Kristi raised her eyebrows at me and I made a face at her. Laughing, Akira left with Icegirl and I was left alone in the room. Taking a deep breath I headed off to find Stronghold, knowing that where he was, the others were probably there too.

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**Soooooo, that's the chapter. The next one is when the fight starts. Oh goodie! Review and tell me what you think of this one! :-D**


	26. Missing Pages

**Warning! Dark chapter ahead!**

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****Chapter 24/Missing Pages**

I went invisible as I searched for Stronghold. I did my best to ignore the screams and shouts that were coming from the gym and shut myself off from my empathy power, not wanting to feel the pain and shock that so many were receiving. Gritting my teeth, I kept up my brisk jog, figuring Stronghold would be wherever the fighting was hottest.

As I rounded a corner however, I was distracted from my goal by a fireball launched right at me from behind. I ducked just in time and wondered how the heck Warren had seen me. After a moment I looked up and saw Warren standing there, fire dancing on his hands as he glared at someone behind me. I turned slowly after making sure I was still invisible and watched as Gabriel strode up the hallway, his slightly pointed teeth bared in an almost feral smile. I grimaced as I realized what was about to happen.

Hate was radiating throughout the room. I could tell that without my primary power of Empathy. I scrambled out of the way and crouched in a corner, watching the two teenagers, ready to step in and interfere if I needed to.

"Pathetic as usual," Gabe's mocking voice startled me and I looked over at him. His smile was now a sneer and he flicked on the device on his palm, shooting a fireball at Warren. The other pyro merely deflected it with his arm.

"You can't win, Gabriel," Warren said finally, when the two stood nose-to-nose. "Our powers are equal and neither of us can hurt the other with fire. The only way we can fight is the old fashioned way." He balled his fists, extinguishing the flames and held them up in a defensive stance.

Gabe smirked. "Whatever you say, cousin," he said, wiping sweat from his face with his sleeve. "But I'm not going to show you any mercy," he warned, stepping back and beginning to circle Warren.

"I'd be disappointed if you did," Warren countered, a grim smile forming on his face. I scrunched my eyes shut briefly, unsure I wanted to witness this. However I found I had to open them again when I felt a breeze go by me as Warren knocked Gabe down and he almost fell on top of me. I scrambled out of the way and stood slowly, wondering if I should step in as I watched them throw punches at each other.

I wondered how it would end though. Warren was indestructible and while I knew Gabe wasn't, I didn't think Warren would go so far as to really hurt his cousin, despite the surface feeling of hate I was getting.

Two black eyes, a busted lip, and a sprained wrist later, Warren and Gabe stood panting on either side of the hallway. Warren shook his head and spat blood out onto the floor.

"This isn't worth it Gabriel," he said. "If you're going to kill me then do it, but stop wasting my time with this useless fighting." He wiped his mouth on his jacket sleeve and straightened.

"No way. We've got a score to settle, Peace," Gabe spat. I recoiled at the venom I both felt and heard in his voice.

"Our fathers' score, not ours, Rochester," Warren said in an almost tired voice, as if he had used those words before. "It was my father who sent yours to prison, not me. And it tore him up inside, trust me." His voice was gruff but sincere.

In the brief lull that followed I quickly began channeling peace and tranquility and any gentle mood I could think of into the hallway. I noticed with relief tense shoulders relax and hard expressions soften. Gabe looked away and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. I began to see some of the old Gabriel come back, the one that kept trying to be my friend. The one that was kind to Karl.

He turned back to Warren and opened his mouth to speak. Before he could however he convulsed violently and dropped to the floor. Warren leaped forward and so did I, involuntarily. I stopped before I reached them however, knowing I had to keep my presence unknown for the time being. I watched helplessly as Warren knelt by Gabe's head and took it onto his lap, watching him with a grim expression as the other boy began to cough violently, blood spilling out of his mouth.

I had no idea what was going on, but when Gabe grabbed at his stomach I knew. A sick feeling settled in my stomach and I took a step backwards. His chip, the one we all carried inside of us, had been activated. A tiny explosion had occurred inside the walls of his stomach and the inner bleeding was killing him. A horrible way to die.

Warren's face was pale as he gripped his convulsing cousin tightly. Blood covered him but he did not seem to mind. I wondered what had happened to the two of their families to get them pitted against each other like this. However animosity was gone from Warren's face as he looked down at his dying cousin. The overwhelming surge of grief, guilt, shame, and (surprisingly) affection caused me to blink and then turn my gaze away. I felt as though their goodbye should be private but I wondered if when I left they would go back to hating each other. One close look at Warren's face however, told me that would not happen. I quietly slipped away.

Stepping into the Mad Science Lab, I leaned against the wall and tried to get my bearings. What I had just witness had shaken me and I felt suddenly weak. I had never seen anyone I knew killed that close to me before. My legs gave out from under me and I sank to the floor, my arms resting on my knees. I looked down my arms to my hands and watched them as the fingers slowly curled and uncurled. However I knew I could not stay there for long so I forced myself to stand.

The door opened then and I quickly ducked back down, turning invisible. The door closed and all was silent for a moment. I did my best to calm my breathing. Then I felt prickles go up my spine and I knew who it was who had entered. I knew who it was then and I surprised a groan as I turned visible and stood.

"Megan," I stated flatly. "Shouldn't you be off causing panic in the gym or something?" I frowned at her.

Megan turned toward me and smiled slightly, moving around a few desks in order to approach me. I backed up until my back hit the wall. She stopped a couple feet from me and put her hands in her pockets.

"I was looking for you," she said, giving me that sexy smile of hers that made me sick and lustful at the same time.

"Why?" I asked bluntly, trying to figure out how fast I could get to the door to get out of there.

"I need to talk to you," she said, covering the distance between us quickly and wrapping her arms around my neck, pressing her body against mine. I trembled slightly and put my hands on her hips, about to push her away. A look of anger flashed in her eyes and she held me tighter, her fingers digging into my hair so hard it hurt. I winced.

"There's something you need to know," she said calmly, the angry look gone.

I quickly spoke before she could say or do anything else. "Gabe's dead," I told her flatly. She paused, as if considering this. Then she shook her head.

"That has nothing to do with what I need to tell you," she said, leaning up and running her lips lightly down my jaw. I gritted my teeth and pulled away, well as much as I could.

"I don't think this is telling me anything," I told her coolly, pushing my hands against her hips in an attempt to get her away. She only pulled harder on my hair and I winced again.

"I'm getting to it," she insisted, pushing my head down so she could plant a kiss on my ear. "Just relax," she whispered into it breathily. I shivered and wished _my_ tracking device would explode so I could avoid this scene before it escalated any further.

"I know you want me, Alex," she stated, pulling back slightly in order to meet my gaze. "I've seen the way you look at me."

"I don't—"

Before I could protest, she kissed me flat on the mouth. I was half-disgusted, half-incredulous. How could she even be thinking like this when a battle was waging in the gym? However my hands trembled on her hips. Her kiss was gentle and inviting and I found myself falling into it, and that was wrong, unwillingly or not. Groaning inwardly, I realized I was compromising and started to pull away.

However, before I could, she ran her tongue over my bottom lip until she reached my lip ring. Curling her lips around it she paused, her eyes opening to look into mine. She grinned then, her teeth caught around the ring . . . and then pulled back sharply.

I cried out in pain as the lip ring tore through my skin, ripping it in two. Blood gushed out of the wound and I grabbed at my mouth as Megan stepped back, spitting the ring out onto the floor. Smirking, she took advantage of my distracted state and punched me hard in the gut. Unprepared for such violence, I buckled. She then punched me across the face. My lip screamed in pain and I shouted as I fell to the ground: she had kicked my feet out from under me.

She planted her foot on my chest and bent down, pressing so hard I felt I could barely breathe. Blood continued to flow down my face from my torn lip and began to drip on the floor. I blinked back tears of pain and tried to concentrate on her face, doing my hardest to breathe.

"You don't know how long I've waited to give you the pain you gave me," Megan said, smiling grimly as she stepped off my chest. I breathed in relief but then winced as she delivered a swift kick to my side, her boots bruising a couple of ribs. I started to struggle to get up, but she kicked me again, knocking me to the ground. Stepping over me with one leg, she lowered herself so she was sitting on my abs.

"What are you talking about?" I mumbled, too much in pain to try and sort out what feelings of hers I could use against her. There was no point in going invisible now; she could have sensed me even then. My chest was aching horribly and I did not think I could fight her off at this point.

"You killed the love of my life, is all," Megan said, fingering the buttons on my white, button-down shirt. Slowly she began to unbutton them, one by one, as she spoke. I watched her warily, pressing my fingers against the split in my lip in an attempt to stop the bleeding. "Jayden was only sixteen, but he was special. Not only was he incredibly hot, but also extremely powerful. He had the power to control metal. He was also a quick learner with a photographic memory."

I wondered why she was telling me this, but then I figured every villain has to have his or her monologue, so I let her ramble on, hoping that by the time she was done I would be strong enough to fight her off. My shirt was unbuttoned by now and she pushed it back to the sides, running her cool hands up and down my now bare chest. I grimaced and started to lift my leg to flip her off of me. However she chose that moment to dig her nails into my chest and rake them down to where she was sitting.

I could not help it: I threw back my head and screamed at the pain. Megan laughed. When I looked back at her, panting hard, she was inspecting the blood on her nails. I glanced at the door, wondering how in the world no one had heard that. I realized with despair they had to be busy fighting on the other side of the school in the gym.

"I wanted to kill you right then and there; that day after you killed him," she went on wiping her hands on my shirt. My entire chest was throbbing and the red liquid was trickling down from ten long, deep scratches. I cursed long nails and told myself I would avoid them for the rest of my life. "However I could not, it would be too obvious and the Elridges liked you. So I decided to wait until this day. No one would blame me for killing you if I told them you had decided to turn back to the heroes side, now would they?" She smirked at me.

Placing her hands on my bleeding chest, she leaned forward so that she was face to face with me. I could feel sweat dripping into my ear as I looked at her, anger and pain burning my eyes.

"And it was fun making you sweat," she admitted softly, licking her lips slowly like she used to. Lifting a hand she stroked my face lightly and I shuddered with revolution. "It helped that you were attractive as well," she added, bending to plant a soft kiss on my bleeding lip. She pulled back then, making a point to run her nails through the grooves already made on my chest. I whimpered and squirmed slightly at the pain. I would have thought that after cutting for so long I would be used to pain but this was far worse than a few shallow cuts on my forearm.

"Too bad you had to go and kill Jayden like that. I might have actually given you what you wanted." She laughed at my disgusted expression and pushed herself off of me. Tilting her head she looked down at my mangled torso and face and nodded slowly.

"You should bleed to death soon enough," she said, nodding slowly. "But just to make sure . . ." She knelt by my arm and lifted it. Fear gripped me as she got out a pocketknife and pushed back my sleeve. She glanced up at me and I struggled to pull my arm away. She simply dug a nail into one of the bloody scratches in my chest and I stopped, gasping.

"Ironic, isn't it?" she mused as she began to cut my wrist with the knife. "That you would die by the very habit you started? Only I'm the one holding the razor now." She stepped back after laying my bleeding appendage back on the ground.

"Goodbye Alex," she purred, moving towards the door and leaving me gaping at the amount of blood I was now lying in. "Give Jayden a kiss for me, will you?" With that she began to leave. However someone in the doorway stopped her. I could not see from my spot on the floor but suddenly the room was full of chaos as Megan suddenly went flying across several desks. By now the blood loss had made me woozy and I began to black out. Before I did however, I heard a familiar voice calling my name, and Violet's worried face bent over me. At least I thought it was Violet. . . . It could have been Magenta . . .

Everything went black.

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**Oooooh, suspenseful!! Review and tell me what you think! (Only about two more chapters left, by the way. Gah! I can't believe this story is almost over!)**


	27. The Last Night

**A/N: Here it is, the song that started it all. I had heard the song "The Last Night" by Skillet just prior to getting the idea for Alex's Story (if you haven't heard it, look it up on youTube, it's an awesome song). It just fit so well with Alex and Ana Lucia and everything with Violet and Magenta (although the idea for them came later). I always imagined Ana Lucia saying it to him (and consequently, Magenta saying it to Violet, specifically the second verse). So this chapter is a bit different. I'll be incorporating the song lyrics into the chapter. Should prove to be interesting. :-)**

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****Chapter 25/The Last Night**

_You come to me with scars on your wrist  
You tell me this will be the last night feeling like this_

The minute the screams began and scores of unfamiliar teenagers swarmed the gym, I knew The SuperVillain Academy Alex was a part of had attacked. Lash seemed to know it too. The first thing he did was locate Stronghold and those with him. Layla had been his date to the Spring Fling and Magenta and Zach had been speaking to them by the refreshment table. I couldn't see Ethan or Warren in the chaos and simply followed Lash, doing my best not to lose him in the crowd.

Teachers were running back and forth, trying to protect the younger students and sidekicks who had not trained well enough to fight. The juniors and seniors were fighting already. Sometimes ice or flames would shoot by and people would have to duck or get hit by friendly-fire.

My mind instantly turned to Alex and fear clenched my stomach. I searched for him in gym but couldn't find him. I reached over and grabbed Magenta's arm when I was close enough. "Alex!" I cried, yelling to be heard over the noise in the room. "Help me find him!"

I could not get his face out of my mind. Him standing there, eyes downcast, as I healed the newest scars on his wrists, and then telling me he was leaving. He said he could not "take it anymore." I had often wondered what he meant by that. And the cutting. I wondered why he had begun cutting again.

'_I just came to say goodbye  
I didn't want you to see me cry, I'm fine'  
But I know it's a lie  
_

I knew it was partly my fault, for not spending enough time with him. He had needed to talk, but I hadn't been there for him. And I didn't even get to see him when he left. He kept himself invisible.

Magenta glanced around and then snagged Will and made him go in front of us, pushing past any obstacles. Lash went with the others to help the teachers. I saw Ethan melted on the floor, slinking in and out of people, making his way to outside. Hopefully he was going to find out how to get to the leader of this attack.

As we hurried from the gym, my mind returned to Alex. He never said he was having problems. He always acted as though he was completely fine. But I should have seen through his lie earlier. I should have confronted him about it early on, before it had escalated to this.

We turned a corner in the hallway and ran into a large tiger. Will skidded to a stop and I ran into his back, Magenta almost running into me but catching herself just in time. She looked around us at the tiger and suddenly narrowed her eyes.

"Violet?" she asked, her voice rising slightly.

The tiger suddenly morphed into a graceful girl who looked like an older version of Magenta, only without the purple in her hair. She was wearing a black leather uni-suit that showed off a model figure. I tugged at the waist of my dress self-consciously before I caught myself. Now was not the time to be comparing myself to someone. For heaven's sake she was the enemy! Violet looked at her younger sister and grimaced.

"You're with the Academy?" Magenta practically screeched. I exchanged a surprised look with Will. Magenta rarely lost her temper publicly.

"Now's not the time, Magenta." Violet's eyes were cold and she pushed past us roughly. I started to go forward with Will, but Magenta turned swiftly and grabbed Violet's arm in a vice-like grip. Violet winced and looked back at her sister.

"You don't belong here, you need to come home," Magenta said flatly. I felt uncomfortable observing this obviously private conversation and I could tell Will did too. However, we weren't about to leave Magenta alone with a potential villain.

_Your parents say everything is your fault  
But they don't know you like I know you  
They don't know you at all_

Violet barked out a harsh laugh. "Oh that's rich. Home. What is that Maj? That's not our house. Not with our parents. You know how much they hate me. How much they're disappointed in me. I was supposed to be the model child and look what I did." Surprisingly tears stood out in her eyes.

Magenta's eyes shone bright as well and her cheeks flushed. "They don't hate you," she whispered, and Will shifted uncomfortably next to me. I glanced at him and saw him studiously studying the ceiling. I could still hear the fight in the gym, but, again, we weren't going to leave Magenta.

'_I'm so sick of when they say_  
"_It's just a phase, you'll be o.k. you're fine"  
But I know it's a lie'_

"Maj, listen to me." Violet jerked her arm away from her sister's grasp and placed her hands on her hips. "Mom and Dad like everything to be perfect. I tried to tell them how I felt but they didn't listen to me. They just said 'oh, you're fine, don't worry about it.' But it wasn't fine. They never treated me like I was fine. They treated me like I was a villain. So that's what I became. A villain." Looking over at us, her lips curled in a sneer. "And that's the end of this discussion."

With that she stomped off. Magenta tried to run after her again, but Will grabbed her arm and kept her with us.

"Let her go, Maj," he said quietly, and I felt a pang in my heart as I watched the tears run down Magenta's face. I started to say something, but stopped suddenly as I thought I heard a scream. It was very distant, but it was coming from further down the hall. Glancing at Will I saw that he had heard it too. We hurried along, Magenta fuming beside us.

She had some colorful words to say under her breath as we half-jogged, half-ran down the hallway. When we finally reached the hall I thought the scream had come from, we were faced with several different closed doors. Will threw open each one as we moved down the hall. Finally we came to the last door. Mr. Medulla's lab. Will pushed open the door and we were suddenly confronted by a girl I did not recognize, but Magenta did.

"_Megan_," she hissed. From the blood down the girl's front, and what I remembered Magenta telling me about the girl, I assumed she was not one of the good guys.

"Out of my way, hero scum," the black girl spat. She spun around and kicked her leg out as if to knock us down, but Will grabbed her leg and sent her flying across several desks.

"Alex!" Magenta cried as soon as we entered the room. "Ana look! It's Alex!"

We rushed over to him as Will dealt with Megan. I could hear crashing and cursing behind us, as we bent over the pale boy on the ground. "Oh Ana," Magenta breathed, and I found myself feeling slightly sick.

Blood was everywhere. I inhaled sharply when I saw the numerous wounds on him. His bottom lip was torn in two, his chest was covered with ten long scratches, and his forearm was gushing with the scarlet liquid. His face was pale and that was the only way I recognized him. His hair was cut short and his body was lean and wiry, something it had not been before.

I could tell right away that the arm wound was the most severe. If that did not close up soon, he would bleed to death. I motioned for Magenta to switch places with me and she pulled his head up into her lap, cradling it with a tenderness I had never known she had. I took his arm in my hands and closed my eyes, concentrating on healing the wound. Once it was closed I felt better about the situation. He had still lost a lot of blood, but his life was no longer in danger.

"Oh Alex," I murmured as I placed my hands over his chest. "I won't ever let you go again. I promise."

_This is the last night you'll spend alone  
Look me in the eyes so I know you know  
I'm everywhere you want me to be  
The last night you'll spend alone  
I'll wrap you in my arms and I won't let go  
I'm everything you need me to be_

Moving to his lip, I looked up at Magenta, but her eyes were fixed on Alex's face. Her hands were absently stroking his hair, but I could tell her mind was a million miles away. I took the opportunity to look him over for other wounds, kicking myself inside for ever letting him out of my sight. I made a promise to myself then that I would be there for Alex whenever he needed me, wherever he needed me, and however he needed me. Whatever had happened to drive him to this Academy had to stop now.

I finished with his outer wounds, but I could tell a couple of his ribs were broken, and his blood pressure was extremely low, I could tell that from his paleness.

"He needs to get to a hospital," I said quietly to Magenta. She looked up at me then and frowned slightly.

"How are we going to get him there?" she asked. We heard a grunt behind us and Will stood from where he and Megan had just finished fighting. He looked weary and haggard and for a moment just like his dad.

"I can take him," Will said. I glanced behind him at the prone figure of Megan.

"What happened?" I asked; she looked dead.

Will sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair. "She knew she couldn't beat me. So she grabbed a scalpel and . . ." he gestured helplessly and I didn't need him to elaborate. Walking over to us, he knelt next to Alex and then slowly lifted the boy into his arms. Alex's limp form and pale visage made him look even more dead then Megan did.

"You know where to take him?" I asked softly, thinking of the Bureau and their hospital for superheroes. Will nodded.

"I'll be back," he promised.

I shook my head. "No, stay with him. We'll come to you when this is all over."

Will looked uncertain but he nodded and, shifting Alex more comfortably in his arms, he ran from the room. Magenta and I exchanged a look.

"To the gym," I said. She nodded.

Together we made our way back the way we had come. When we arrived in the gym, we saw that, surprisingly, the fight was almost over. Apparently some of those in Academy had turned on their fellow students. After that it had only taken several minutes to turn the tide of the fight. Many of the Academy students either surrendered or retreated. One of those who had surrendered however suddenly began to convulse on the ground, as if something was eating him up on the inside. Magenta and I exchanged horrified looks.

"There's a device inside of us," one pale Academy girl said. She was petite Asian chick dressed in a cute formal dress. "It explodes when someone presses a detonator or we leave the boundaries of the city. The detonator's in our ship."

The panicked voices of the Academy members began to escalate. Mr. Medulla rushed forward and told everyone to calm down. Whipping out a small device, he told everyone who had a device inside of them to follow him to a corner of the room. The rest of us convened in the middle of the room.

"You okay?" Magenta asked a weary-looking Warren. He hesitated, then nodded slowly. Ethan and Zach and Layla joined us. Layla's face was white and she was leaning against Ethan. Warren moved to her side and took her from the smaller boy.

"You hurt?" he asked in a low, gruff voice.

She looked around at all of us. "I'm fine," she said quickly. "Where's Will?"

"He took Alex to the hospital," I said, wondering where Lash was.

"Is he okay?" Worry lined Layla's forehead. I nodded.

"He'll be fine."

"Dude, your leg is bleeding," Zach told Layla, pointing to her leg where a gash could be seen through a long tear in the skirt of her dress. We all looked down at it.

"Boy could shoot knives out of his hands," she explained, and bit her lip. I moved forward.

"May I?" I asked, holding out my hand. Layla nodded and I went to work healing her wound. Once I was done, Warren released her and she stood on her own.

"I should go look for more wounded," I said, looking around at those in the gym, wondering again where Lash was.

"Here comes Principal Powers," Ethan spoke up suddenly.

The woman looked grave. "We're rounding up the wounded right now," she told me, obviously having overheard my words. "You and the others with powers like yours will get to work right away. Those you can't heal will be taken in a bus to the Bureau of Superhero Assistance." She sighed.

"Principal Powers?" Layla spoke up quietly. "Did we lose anyone?"

I noticed Warren's jaw clench and our principal looked at us through sad eyes. "Three freshman sidekicks," she answered. "And two hero upperclassmen."

I inhaled sharply for the second time that day. Five students. Five of our students gone. I was suddenly gripped with fear. Lash was an upperclassman and a hero. Was he among those who lost their lives? I felt my stomach clench and felt lightheaded.

"How many of theirs?" Warren asked tightly and he surprised me with his question. I glanced him but his eyes were on Principal Powers.

"From we can tell, eight of theirs," Principal Powers answered. She glanced toward the doors and noted the students filing in, many of them wounded in some for or another. She excused herself and gestured for me to follow her. I did so silently, worry gnawing at me from the inside out.

I had avoided Lash somewhat for the past few days leading up to the dance. I had agreed to go with the dance with him before the Penny-incident, but afterwards I was hesitant. I knew Lash was not perfect, but the thought of him in the arms of Penny Hayes made my stomach turn. I never thought of myself as a jealous girlfriend, but I would be lying if I didn't say I was _not_ happy with Lash for his moment of weakness.

Now however, with the possibility in the air that he might be dead, I could only think about how much I loved him. How much I wanted him to be safe. I didn't care if he made out with every other girl in the school. As long as he was alive and well, I would be content.

I got to work right away on those wounded. Some of the Academy students came over to be checked out as soon as Mr. Medulla was done with them. I noticed Violet among them but she did not look wounded so I kept to my work. I noticed however, Magenta striding across the room toward her sister. Violet's eyes grew wide and she turned to hurry away. Magenta followed.

They were right next to me when Magenta caught up with her sister and I could hear them clearly from where I finished patching up a young freshman with a shoulder wound.

_This is the last night you'll spend alone  
Look me in the eyes so I know you know  
I'm everywhere you want me to be  
The last night you'll spend alone  
I'll wrap you in my arms and I won't let go  
I'm everything you need me to be_

"Violet please," Magenta spoke earnestly, and I was surprised to hear the emotion in her voice. I honestly did not know what to make of this girl anymore. The Magenta I kept seeing today was completely different than the one I had known for so many months.

"Magenta, it's not possible," Violet said. "You have the rest of the family, don't you? You're fine. You can live without me."

"No I _can't_!" Magenta said, stomping her foot in what I thought was a very childish way. "I _need_ you. _We_ need you. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to be with you only to spend the night alone." She turned her eyes onto the ground and I raised an eyebrow.

Violet seemed to soften. She stepped forward and placed her hands on her sister's shoulders. "Hey," she said softly. "Has it really been that bad?" she asked.

"Yes," Magenta said, nodding. "Mom and Dad are getting divorced. Lilac pretends like she doesn't care, but she writes letters to you all the time and hides them underneath her pillow. And Indigo misses you too. Our family is falling apart and it's all your fault. Because you left us." She lifted her face to meet her sister's gaze. "And you shouldn't have to be alone anymore."

Tears came to Violet's eyes and she was now the one to hang her head. Magenta stepped forward and hugged her fiercely. I looked away, knowing it was a private moment. I finished up the last student with an outward wound and I began to then look around for Lash. I still could not see him anywhere.

I stood to join the rest of my friends when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned and then took a small step back as I looked into the dark brown eyes of Violet Walker.

"Hey, are you Ana Lucia?" she asked softly. I nodded slowly, wondering what she wanted and how she knew my name. "Alex talked a lot about you," she said with a small smile. Something in the way she said his name made prickles go up my spine. How close had Alex come to know this villain? I knew I wasn't being fair to Violet, but that was my first reaction. "Where is he?" she asked after a second when I didn't say anything.

"He was severely wounded," I said. "Will Stronghold took him to the Bureau hospital."

Violet's expression turned to one of concern to worry. "Will I be able to see him?"

I paused. "The next bus out has some room. Layla and I were going to go. Would you like to as well?"

She nodded and Magenta stepped up, indicating that she wanted to come with. I felt another tap on my shoulder and turned to face the little Asian Academy student who had spoken up before. She didn't look so pale now, and I was again taken aback by the Academy student's beauty. Did they _all_ have to look like supermodels? Pushing away the thought, I looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to state her business.

"Are you going to see Alex?" she asked. I nodded, thinking '_what's it to you?'_ but of course not saying that aloud. "I want to come too," the girl stated. Suddenly two boys from the Academy flanked her sides. "Us too."

I glanced warily at Violet but she seemed to not mind their presence. I sighed. "If Principal Powers agrees," I said finally.

Turns out they were a part of a secret resistance to the Academy. They called themselves Maquis. I had to smile at the obscure World War II reference. Magenta just looked confused. Given that knowledge, Principal Powers agreed to them accompanying me and Layla to the hospital.

The ride there was long and silent. The bus windows turned black as we descend in order to not reveal the location of the Bureau. I thought this was a little silly, considering it was disguised as a bank anyway and armed with heavy security.

The hospital ward of the building was behind a false vault door and most of it was underground. I asked for Alex Newton's room and was escorted there by a nurse. Only Layla and I were allowed in first.

He was lying on the hospital bed looking pale and worn. He was still unconscious, and Will was sitting next to the bed, his head in his hands. Layla went quickly to the side of her boyfriend. Laying a hand on his shoulder, she bent forward and spoke quietly into his ear. He looked up suddenly and met her gaze. Together they glanced at me and then seemed to make a silent agreement to leave the room.

I ignored them, my focus was on Alex. Moving forward slowly, I sat down in the seat Will had just been sitting in and reached over to take Alex's hand in mine. Turning his hand over so his palm was facing up, I lightly traced the faint scars on his forearm with my fingertips. He had cut recently, I could tell: within the past two months. My chest ached to think of what could have prompted him to do it.

_This is the last night you'll spend alone  
Look me in the eyes so I know you know  
I'm everywhere you want me to be  
The last night you'll spend alone  
I'll wrap you in my arms and I won't let go  
I'm everything you need me to be_

"Now you listen to me, Alex," I scolded him while tears ran down my cheeks. "I don't want you getting into any more trouble like this, you hear?" I realized I had switched to Spanish, but I ranted better in my native tongue anyway.

"This is the last time I let you go out with people I don't know who claim they're your friends. This is the last time I let you use silence to answer my questions concerning your emotional well-being. This is the last time you get away with turning invisible on me and running away. And this is the absolute last time I'm going to give you reason to say you hate me." Tears ran down my cheeks and I lifted his hand to my mouth, closing my eyes as sobs racked my tired body.

I must have looked a sight. Collapsed halfway across Alex's hospital bed in a spring dress with my hair tumbling around my face and my running mascara making me look like some Goth girl, I was sure I looked way less than attractive. But I didn't care. Alex needed me, and I was not going to go anywhere.

A hand rested on my shoulder but I shrugged it off. "I just need a few more minutes," I said to someone who I assumed was Layla or Will.

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright," came a voice that sounded like neither Layla nor Will. Looking up, my tear-streaked and mascara covered face turned toward the voice.

Lash smiled crookedly at me. "Was there a leak?" he asked, teasingly.

I was instantly in his arms, sobbing all over his nice dress shirt. He held me tightly and did not say anything for a while. He stroked my hair and murmured sweet nothings in my ear until I calmed down enough to step away, swiping at my eyes.

"How is he?" he asked, nodding to Alex, the concern on his face touching me.

"He's okay now. Just has a couple broken ribs. He's still unconscious though; they had to do a blood transfusion. He had lost a lot of blood." I sniffed and wiped at my nose. Lash grabbed a Kleenex from a box next to the hospital bed and handed it to me.

"Did you have to heal him?" he asked soberly as I blew my nose. I nodded.

"It was horrible," I said. "Blood was everywhere."

"I noticed." Lash's eyes traveled down my dress and I looked down to see red stains all around the bottom of the skirt. I wavered slightly on my feet as dizziness threatened to overcome me. Lash quickly put a steadying hand on my back.

"Where were you?" I asked in a hoarse voice. "I thought you were dead."

"I was one of those severely wounded. They took me straight here. Fixed me right up." He grinned slightly and that's when I noticed his battered face. Reaching up, I stroked his eye and mouth lightly, channeling my powers out so that they healed his face. He took my hand in his and kissed my palm.

"It's going to be okay, Ana," he said softly. "You'll see."

I glanced over at Alex. "We're keeping Alex," I said softly. "We won't let him go away again, right?" I looked back up at Lash, hoping he would agree with me.

He paused, looking over at Alex's pale face, exposed in full now that his hair had been cut. Lash pursed his lips. "Right," he said with finality.

Together we approached Alex's bedside and I reached out to retake his limp hand.

_I won't let you say goodbye  
And I'll be your reason why  
The last night away from me_

_  
Away from me_

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**So that's the (long) chapter. The next one is the last one. It's already written, but I'd like to get at least five reviews before I put it up. So there's a little challenge for you. ;-) So review and tell me what you think of the chapter! :-P :-D**


	28. Then Came Hope

**So here it is, the last chapter of Alex's Story. I feel kinda sad that it's over, but I feel like I've come a long way as a writer and as a story-teller through this story. I want to thank all my reviewers for their encourgement and the inspiration they gave me. I couldn't have done it without you guys. I really appreciate all the reviews. This is the first story I've had to break 100 reviews and I'm honored enough people liked it to get it past that 100 mark. XD So without further ado, the last chapter of Alex's Story:**

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**Chapter 26/Then Came Hope**

I knew I was still unconscious and dreaming. The reason I knew that was because of two things. One: there was no pain, and two: that girl was there again. With the scraggly blonde hair that I remembered, she looked at me with her big blue eyes and smiled.

"What?" I asked, looking around and seeing nothing but blackness. "Why are you here? I don't have any more questions. Well, except whether or not Sky High is still standing, er, floating. And that doesn't really matter if I'm dead." I frowned slightly. "_Am_ I dead?"

The girl laughed at me. "No, you are not dead. And Sky High is not either. And I am not here because of a question you have currently, but because of a question you had many years ago."

I had plenty of questions many years ago. I wished she would just get to the point and quit being so dang cryptic.

"He is alive."

I blinked. "Excuse me?"

"David. Your brother? He's alive."

There was a beat. I was totally confused.

"The police saw him dead."

"The police saw what he wanted them to see."

"Who? My dad?" My thoughts were spinning around me and I tried to grasp on to one that made even remote sense. "Did my dad get a David look-alike or something to shoot his brains out? Why would he do that?"

The girl laughed again. That didn't help the situation at all. "What's so funny?" I growled.

"You are," she told me plainly. "You see what you want to see. And what you see isn't always what _is_."

"Do you want to grow up and be a lawyer or something? Because you'd be good at it."

"You'll be reunited soon," the girl answered without a blink or a twitch.

"If you're talking about me and my dad, you're lucky I'm unconscious."

She just laughed again and then faded off into the blackness. I gritted my teeth, wishing she would stop doing that: leaving just when I needed her to answer a question directly. By that time however, pain began to invade my senses. Groaning softly I felt a weight lift off my eyelids and slowly I opened them, blinking owlishly in the light of the hospital room. I looked down the length of the bed and saw that I was all in one piece. Looking to my left I could see why. Ana Lucia was there, resting her head on her arms and her arms on the bed.

I cleared my throat lightly and her head jerked up.

"Alex!" she cried, flinging herself across the bed to hug me awkwardly around the IV and short metal barriers.

"Ow," I muttered, a sharp pain exploding in my side. She moved back quickly.

"Sorry, I forgot about your ribs."

"Broken?"

"I'm afraid so."

I looked at her, and she looked at me. Tentatively I reached for my Empathy powers to see if she was upset at me for leaving. However I found I was powerless. For a moment I panicked. But then I wiggled my feet and realized I had power-neutralizers around my ankles. I guessed it was hospital policy or something for patients to be powerless. Just in case they got violent. So they wouldn't throw the nurses through the wall. Made sense.

Oh great, I was thinking in short sentences. That meant I was nervous. Nervous about seeing Ana Lucia again. Nervous about what she might be feeling.

Her face screwed up like she was trying really hard not to cry. "I missed you, Alex," she said in a voice barely above a whisper.

"I . . ." (come on Alex, just say it!) "missed you too." I swallowed hard, turning my eyes down onto the white blanket covering me. Glancing up at her surreptitiously, I opened my mouth to say something when suddenly the door burst open and a group of people come in.

Stronghold and his friends, and then Violet, Akira, Kristi, Karl, and Richard. They surrounded my bed, all talking at once, all carrying Get Well Soon balloons (cheesy, but thoughtful), and all looking happy to see me. I notice a couple people missing though.

"Where's Peter, Charlie, and Arnold?" My question however, was lost in the babble. I decided to let it slide for now. I could grill Violet later.

Akira came up and punched me in the shoulder. Hard.

"Ow!" I rubbed my shoulder and scowled at her.

"That's for getting yourself injured," she told me flatly. Then suddenly she grabbed my face in her hands and planted a big wet one right on my mouth. I let her, knowing it was mostly for show. A couple of the others (mainly Violet, Magenta, Zach, Kristi, and Richard) began whooping when the kiss went on longer than the split second it had lasted in the control room. My face was beet red I'm sure.

She pulled away after what felt like an eternity. "_That_ was for not dying," she told me.

"Uh, thanks?" I tried, wondering if I would be scarred for life now. I had had so many impromptu and unexpected kisses I wasn't sure I wanted to know what a real one would be like.

"You're welcome," Akira said, giving me a cheeky smile and a waggle of her fingers in a wave goodbye as she melted back into the sea of faces around me.

Richard shook his head slowly. "Man, I swear you were dead in my vision. I must not have seen the part where Ana Lucia saved you." He nodded to the girl who still stood closest to me.

"Yeah, she's good for that," I said with a small smile. "Saving my butt I mean." I looked over at Ana and we shared a sad, knowing grin full of reconciliation. I then caught a glimpse of Violet, watching us with calculating eyes. What was she thinking about?

"It's good to have you back, dude," Zach said, bobbing his head up and down.

"Yeah it was weird but I actually missed your 'not-there' presence," Magenta said, speaking slowly and frowning as though she was confused.

"You can't _believe_ the stories that were flying around when it was discovered you were actually in Royal Pain's Academy," Ethan said, shaking his head as though in disbelief. I had to cringe.

"But it's all forgiven now," Layla was quick to say. "And we're glad you're back." She gave me a warm, friendly smile and I wondered why I had never really noticed how nice she was before. I could not help but smile back.

"And I'm going to turn myself in," Kristi said quietly and the chatter around me quieted down as everyone turned to look at her. I noticed Warren's gaze was more intense than the rest. She ducked her head and stared at the ground. "It was wrong what I did and people died because of it. I deserve whatever consequences will come of it."

"But your cousin . . .?" I said hesitantly.

"Bobby is going to be safe. There's this other superhero academy that's more like a private school that he'll be going to. Apparently he has ice powers too. Who would have thought?" And Kristi Drake shook her head and smiled slightly, seemingly resigned with her fate.

"I hope they're not too hard on you," I said softly.

"Me too," she replied with a sad grin.

"It _is_ good to have you back, Alex," Lash said, and rubbed the back of his neck. I knew it was not his thing to step out of his way to be nice to someone like me, so those few words coming from him was more than I could have hoped for.

"Thanks Lash, it's good to be back," I said and I meant it too.

Just then a nurse came in and saw everyone. "Oh you're not supposed to all be in here!" she exclaimed. "There are rules! Regulations! The fire marshal would have a fit if he saw this. Out! Out!"

Everyone rolled their eyes and laughed, before waving and saying various goodbyes. I waved to them all but I caught Violet's wrist as she passed by.

"Stay." I only had to say that one word and look into her eyes and she nodded, after a slight hesitation.

When everyone had gone, I motioned for her to sit. "Tell me about Peter and Arnold and Charlie and Adams and Megan. Oh, and Josh. I already know about Gabriel." And I winced at the memory and wondered again what the deal had been between him and Warren.

Violet sighed and passed a hand over her face. "They're all gone, Alex," she said softly and my throat constricted.

"Dead?" I asked when I got my voice back.

"Well Megan is for sure. She committed suicide while fighting with Will."

I blinked. No wonder Stronghold didn't say anything earlier. Just looking at me must have reminded him of that fight. I sighed and rubbed my forehead.

"Josh?"

"Escaped, most likely. With the Elridges and whoever else was on that ship. They hightailed it out of there as soon as the tables turned. Adams and Charlie were probably on there too."

"Arnold?"

"Surrendered. He was taken to juvie."

"Peter?"

Violet looked away. I knew then the news was not going to be good. I swallowed hard and prepared myself. "He's dead," she said and I felt the air leave me in a _whoosh_ that hurts my ribs. Poor little Peter. He never really did well in the physical portion of the Maquis training.

"How?"

"Brain stress. Some other telepath pressed too strongly on his mind. He wasn't strong enough."

Then again, physical strength didn't always matter in the superhero world. I sighed and ran a hand over my face slowly, processing this new information and trying not to feel sick about the whole ordeal.

"Are you okay?" I asked after a minute, observing the fact that she looked pale and worn herself.

"Magenta confronted me at school. I'm going to go home for a while, check up on things. I probably won't stay for long though. I'm graduating soon and I'll need to get my hero name and sidekick and start saving the world." Her mouth twitched in a small smile.

"You'll be a great hero," I told her sincerely. "Have you thought about a name?"

Her smile grew into a smirk. "Amazon," she said.

I laughed. "Fitting."

"Thanks. It took me a week to think it up."

"That long, huh?" I grinned and she matched it willingly.

"I should go and let you rest," she said, standing. I looked up at her and my smile slipped slightly.

"Will you be back?" I asked, not wanting her to leave for the hero track without saying goodbye.

"Of course," she said. "I'll be here when they release you so we can celebrate your homecoming."

"Not before then?" I frowned slightly as a cloud settled over her face.

"I don't like hospitals," she said flatly and turned away.

"Hospitals in general? Or this particular one?"

She frowned. "This one."

"Why?"

"You remember me telling you about the little girl that fell into a coma when I hit her mother's car those years back?"

"Yeah." I waited for the punch line.

"She was taken here. She still is here."

"Oh." Yeah, that was quite the punch. Ouch. "You want to see how she's doing?" I asked the question before it had processed fully in my head.

"Maybe later," she said vaguely. Dropping a small kiss on my forehead, she moved toward the door before I could offer up any protests. "See you later, Alex."

And with that she left, and I was left to my thoughts. My very confused, depressing, and yet still somewhat hopeful, thoughts.

0000000000

It was at least two weeks before they released me from the hospital. Violet was there, as was Ana Lucia. They seemed to be a little awkward around each other. I found out that though Violet had been a part of the Academy for almost three years, no charges were being pressed against her since she had not done anything villainous. (Apparently the same happened for Akira and Richard. They were going to finish their schooling at Sky High. Kristi was going to spend some time in juvenile hall, but considering her circumstances they were going to let her go in a few weeks.)

During my stay at the hospital, I had learned the room number of the little girl Violet had sent here via her reckless driving. I only knew that the last name in front of the door was Foremen. The room number was 777 and I asked Ana Lucia to take me there. Violet followed quietly, but once she saw the name "Foreman" below the room number, she stopped, stiffening.

"Alex, I'm not ready," she told me flatly. I just gave her a look.

"I'm not leaving this hospital until you go in there and see her," I told her firmly, meaning every word . . . mostly.

She made a face at me, but, after much stalling, she sighed deeply and entered the room. I remained outside with Ana Lucia, who tactfully remained silent. I tapped my fingers against my knee and mentally cursed whoever made up the rule that all patients had to leave the hospital in a wheelchair. It made me feel like a cripple and I was _not_ a cripple.

The door opened suddenly and Violet looked down at me, her face screwed up into a funny expression.

"She wants to see you," she said.

I blinked. "She's awake?" That was the most surprising news I'd had in two weeks.

Violet nodded slowly. "I already called a nurse. It was really weird. I was just looking at her, trying to gather up the courage to apologize or something." She swallowed and ran a hand through her hair. "And she just opened hers eyes and says 'I forgave you a long time ago, Violet Walker.' How did she even know my name?" She shook her head.

I blinked again. Something in those words sounded familiar. Standing despite Ana's protests (I was careful not to stress my ribs), I walked into the room and was confronted by big blue eyes and crinkly blonde hair.

"You!" I said accusingly. Violet started beside me.

"You know this girl?" she asked, curious.

"Know her? She's visited me almost every time I've been unconscious. I thought she was a figment of my imagination." And yet there she was, in the flesh.

"I visit people in their dreams," the girl said with a small smile. "I'm the Dream Princess."

"You have a superpower?" Violet asked weakly.

"Yes. I've actually been out of my coma for a long time. I've stayed here though because I felt I could help more people who needed me."

"Needed you for what? Cryptic messages that make no sense whatsoever?" Violet glanced at me, frowning in disapproval of my bitter tone.

"I comfort them while they are unconscious or in comas. I help them cope with their situation and give them hope." The girl's eyes were serious as they regarded me, and I softened somewhat.

"So that was supposed to be comfort? Telling me that my dad is coming back?" I narrowed my eyes at her.

"I never said that," she told me pointedly. "You need to listen, not just hear."

I turned to Violet. "See? She speaks in like secret-coded speech." I frowned at the girl but she simply smiled back at me.

"Don't you have family that you need to go to?" Violet asked her, ignoring me. "You've been pretending to be in a coma for three years."

"Oh I'm not pretending," the girl said. "I have to go into a coma-like state to reach others through their dreams. It doesn't work otherwise."

"But what about family?" Violet repeated.

"I don't have any family left. My mother was the only one I had." The girl's eyes grew sad and Violet flinched.

"I'm sorry," she muttered.

The girl shook her head. "I talked to a woman in here who lost her mother too. I was able to help her get through her grief. I wouldn't have been able to do that if I hadn't been in here and if my own mother had not gone. I miss her, but I've been able to use my experience to help others, and so thank you." She smiled at Violet and tears spilled over my friend's cheeks.

Reaching over, I took her hand and squeezed it lightly. She squeezed it back but kept her gaze on the girl. "I'll come visit you, I promise. You shouldn't be alone in here."

"I'd appreciate that. Thank you." The girl smiled and after a moment Violet smiled back.

"Alex?" Ana Lucia stuck her head inside the room. "We have to go now. It's getting late."

Violet glanced at me. "I'm going to stay here awhile, okay Alex?"

I nodded. "I'll see you later." I turned toward the door but stopped just before I left and turned back to the girl. She really had given me hope and had comforted me, somewhat, when I needed it back at the Academy. And what she said about David kept replaying in my head. Was he really alive? Could that be possible?

She smiled slowly and I realized I was staring. I quickly thought of a reason for the staring.

"What's your name anyway?" I asked curiously.

"Hope," she said with a grin. "Hope Foremen."

Hope for men. That's what you'd call ironic.

* * *

**Well that's it. I hope you liked this last chapter and once again thanks for all the dedicated reviewing. I love you guys. XD Keep an eye out for my next Sky High fanfiction: Wildfire. The first chapter should be up soon. XD So, "see you in another life, eh brothah?"**


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